Politics in Digital Society Ph.D. thesis by Troels Runge IT University at Copenhagen Submitted May 17, 2021 i Examination Committee Bente Kalsnes, Associate Professor, School of Communication, Leadership and Management, Kristiania University College, Norway Ulrike Klinger, Junior Professor, Institute for Media and Communication Studies, Freie University, Berlin, Germany. Gitte Stald, Associate Professor, IT University of Copenhagen, Head of Committee. Supervisors Lisbeth Klastrup, Associate Professor, IT University of Copenhagen. Luca Rossi, Associate Professor, IT University of Copenhagen. ii English Summary This thesis departs from the fact, that the use of social media platforms has become a precondition for politicians and parties, where social media have been presented as new opportunities to reach and engage voters, bypassing mass media, and levelling the political playing field. Now, however, politicians and parties face the limitations and control of platforms, and must submit to new forms of media logic, increased mediatization of politics. To comprehend this transformative shift, we must understand that digital and social media permeate all aspects of society, that we now live in a digital society. Sociologist Deborah Lupton have noted that “... the very idea of ‘culture’ or ‘society’ cannot now be fully understood without the recognition that computer software and hardware devices not only underpin but actively constitute selfhood, embodiment, social life, social relations and social institutions” (Lupton, 2014). This is certainly true in politics too. This thesis is contextualized within the formal arena of national politics in Denmark, including the Danish media system and the specificity of Danish political culture. Throughout the thesis, I focus on how social media platforms are used by Danish politicians, as an illustration of how the transformative power of platforms impacts formal politics, i.e., how politics is exercised and performed by politicians and political parties in election campaigns as well as in agenda-setting in everyday politics. The methodological approach of the thesis takes the form of an inductive, observational mapping of political life on social media and beyond in Denmark. This approach does in no way imply that the thesis is detached from theory. On the contrary, the overall argument is based on the conceptualisation of social media as a new form of social interaction, mediated online interaction, that takes place on media and technology platforms with distinct media logics of their own and which contributes to an increased mediatization of political communication culture and society. In practical terms, I explore three empirical cases. The first case, Governing with Social Media, is an introduction to the field of digital political communication in Denmark and how the party leaders and Members of Parliament use social media. In the second case, Breaking the Agenda, I explore how social media platforms are used for setting the agenda on social media platforms and in the news media. The primary focus is on how live streaming video is used in context of political events. Finally, in the last case, Danish Elections and Campaigning, I unfold how social media have been used in the past general elections. iii Among the main findings are that politicians are increasingly using multiple social media platforms to set the political agenda, stay visible to the voters and the news media, and cultivate the personal candidacy. Adding to this, although it is not possible to say that the use of social media will guarantee an election win, it seems clear that it has become virtually impossible to get elected without the use of social media. With this thesis, I aim to contribute to the limited, but emerging field of research in political communication on social media in Denmark. The field needs attention, if we want to understand the wider impact of social media on politics in digital society. As such, this thesis does not mark the end of research, but rather it is a part of the initial mapping of a growing research field, which I hope to explore more in the future. iv Dansk resumé Denne afhandling tager udgangspunkt i, at brugen af sociale medie platforme er blevet en forudsætning for politikere og partier i dag. Sociale medier er blevet fremstillet som en ny mulighed for at nå og engagere vælgerne, som en mulighed for at omgå massemedier, og som en mulighed for at udligne forskellene i det politiske landskab. Men i dag betyder brugen af sociale medier også at politikere og partier må leve med de begrænsninger og den kontrol, disse platforme udøver, og at de må underordne sig nye medielogikker, den øgede medialisering af politik. For at forstå dette skifte, må vi forstå, at digitale og sociale medier gennemsyrer alle dele af samfundet, og at vi nu lever i et digitale samfund. Sociologen Deborah Lupton har observeret at “... the very idea of ‘culture’ or ‘society’ cannot now be fully understood without the recognition that computer software and hardware devices not only underpin but actively constitute selfhood, embodiment, social life, social relations and social institutions” (Lupton, 2014). Den betragtning gælder også for politik. Denne afhandling skal ses i kontekst af den formelle politiske arena i Danmark, herunder det danske mediesystem og den specifikke danske politiske kommunikationskultur. I afhandlingen fokuserer jeg på, hvordan sociale medieplatforme bliver brugt af danske politikere, som en illustration af, hvordan disse platforme og den magt de udøver påvirker den formelle politiske arena, det vil sige, hvordan politik bliver udført af politikere og politiske partier i valgkampe, såvel som i den agenda-setting, som finder sted imellem valgkampene. Den metodologiske tilgang i afhandlingen bygger på en induktiv og observerende kortlægning af det politiske liv på sociale medier i Danmark. Tilgangen betyder ikke, at afhandlingen ikke bygger på et teoretisk fundament. Tværtimod er det gennemgående argument, at kommunikationen på sociale medier udgør en ny form for social interaktion, der kan beskrives som medieret online interaktion, som finder sted på medie- og teknologiplatforme, der er drevet af en egen entydig medielogik, og som bidrager til en øget medialisering af den politiske kommunikationskultur og samfundet i sin helhed. Afhandlingens empiriske del består af tre forskellige cases. Den første case, Governing with Social Media, er en general introduktion til hvordan digital politisk kommunikation udfolder sig i Danmark. I den anden case, Breaking the Agenda, undersøger jeg, hvorledes sociale medier bliver brugt til at sætte den politiske dagsorden. Det primære fokus er her på, hvordan live-streaming video anvendes i forbindelse med politiske begivenheder. I den tredje case, v Danish Elections and Campaigning, undersøger jeg, hvordan sociale medier er blevet anvendt i valgkampene i 2011, 2015 og 2019. Blandt de overordnede fund er, at politikere i stigende grad anvender flere sociale medier for at være i stand til at sætte den politiske dagsorden. Politikerne må i stigende grad være synlig for vælgerne og nyhedsmedier, og samtidig må de kultivere deres personlige kandidatur. Derudover kan det tilføjes, at alt imens det ikke er muligt at sige at sociale medier vil sikre en valgsejr, er det blevet klart, at det stort set er umuligt at vinde valg uden. Med afhandlingen ønsker jeg at bidrage til et forskningsfelt, der omfatter brugen af sociale medier til politisk kommunikation, der for nuværende er begrænset. Hvis vi ønsker at forstå, hvordan den politiske kommunikation udfolder sig og hvilken betydning sociale medier har for det politiske liv i det digitale samfund, er det nødvendigt med mere forskning i fremtiden. vi Table of Contents 1. Politics in Digital Society 1 Digital Society 2 The Research Questions 6 The Outline of the Thesis 7 Foundations of Social Media and Politics 7 The Danish Case 8 Research Design and Digital Methods 8 The Cases 8 Contributions 9 2. Foundations of Social Media and Politics 10 Methodological Approach 11 Theoretical Approach(es) 12 Framing Research 13 Politics and Media 14 Spaces and Places 16 Americana 20 Social Media, Media Logics, and Mediatization 25 Platforms and Infrastructure 28 Platforms 29 Infrastructures 30 Media Logics and Mediatization 31 Media Logic 33 Social Media Logic 36 vii Reconfiguring Social Media Logic 40 Media Usage 41 Production 45 Connectivity 47 Governance 51 Mediatization 55 The Mediatization of Politics 56 Mediatization and the News Media 57 Personalization of Politics 59 Social Media and Mediatization 61 3. The Danish Case: Social Media and Politics 64 The State of Denmark 64 Population, Culture, and Religion 65 Political Culture and Party Affinity 66 The Political System 67 Politicians and Parties 68 The Electoral System 69 The Danish Media System 73 Radio and Television 74 Newspapers 75 The Internet and Social Media 76 Social Media Use 77 Social Media and the News 78 Media Markets 79 viii Social Media Use for Politics 81 Danish Research 81 A Chronological Review of Research 84 Conclusions 89 4. Research Design and Digital Methods 90 Research Design 90 Case selection 92 Research Ethics 93 Data Collection 94 5. Cases 97 5.1 Governing with Social Media 99 Agenda-setting 100 Political Agenda Setting 105 Social Media, Political Agenda Setting and Public Opinion 107 Previous Research in Everyday Politics 111 Digital Methods: Governing with Social Media 112 Data Collection: The Events and Artefacts 113 Presence on Social Media 114