Defining Democracy in a Digital Age Political Support on Social Media

The Internet revolution is at the centre of the creation of the new economy of advanced capitalism, which is uprooting the social and economic base from which the stable democracies of the twentieth century emerged. These established democracies are under increasing strain to retain public support in this new economy, and are ever more critically appraised. One product of the new Digital Age is the social media, a site of mass private expressions of opinion on a global scale. Measuring support for or the decline of democracy in this new public sphere is crucial for democratic endurance. This book presents a methodology for measuring these sentiments on Twitter, and shows how this method can initiate a process to give structure and coherence to this mass of unique individual expressions. It considers how such results can contribute to the shaping of new imagined communities supportive of democracy in this turbulent Digital Age.

Pierre du Toit is Professor in the Department of Political Science at Stellenbosch University, South Africa. His latest book, co-authored with Hennie Kotzé, is Liberal Democracy and Peace in South Africa. The Pursuit of Freedom as Dignity. (2011). His latest edited work, with Nicola de Jager, is Friend or Foe? Dominant Party Systems Southern Africa (2013).

Barend Lutz is a political/security risk analyst and big data analyst with a background in Value and Policy Studies and International Relations. His research is focused on integrating next-generation internet technology and political science. He is an alumnus of Stellenbosch University, the MIH Media Lab, University of Hong Kong and Sciences-Po grande école Paris.

List of Tables and Figures
Acknowledgements
List of Abbreviations

CHAPTER 1: DEMOCRACY IN THE NEW DIGITAL AGE
NOTES

CHAPTER 2: TWENTIETH CENTURY DEMOCRACY AND ITS SOCIAL BASE
THE CIVIC CULTURE
Citizen Effectiveness
Political Culture
Social Cohesion and Social Capital
Political Cohesion at National Level
Mass Society
THE THIRD WAVE
TELEVISION AND THE DECLINE OF SOCIAL CAPITAL
CONCLUSION
NOTES

CHAPTER 3: THE DEVELOPMENT OF METHODS FOR MEASURING EXPRESSIONS ON DEMOCRACY
THE VALUE OF MEASURING EXPRESSIONS ON DEMOCRACY
TRADITIONAL METHODS OF MEASURING PUBLIC EXPRESSIONS DEMOCRACY
The World Values Survey
Voice of the People
Regional Research Projects
AfroBarometer
LatinoBarometer (Latinobarómetro)
TWITTER AS A NEW PUBLIC SPHERE
EMERGING METHODS OF MEASURING PUBLIC EXPRESSION
CONCLUSION
NOTES

CHAPTER 4: MEASURING SUPPORT FOR DEMOCRACY ON TWITTER
INTRODUCTION
OPERATIONALISATION
The Measuring Instrument: Data Processing Platform
Public Expressions
Sentiment Classification
Data Collection
Representation of Measured Expressions on Democracy from Twitter
MEASUREMENT VALIDITY OF THE INSTRUMENT
DISCUSSION OF RESULTS
Error Range in Chatterbox Classification
Feasibility of Measuring Public Expressions about Democracy on Twitter
Other Findings
FUTURE RESEARCH
CONCLUSION
NOTES

CHAPTER 5: NEW IMAGINED COMMUNITIES IN THE DIGITAL AGE
THE INTERNET: CURRENT IMPACT
The Politics of Revolt
New Social Movements
New Imagined Communities
Stable Content
Dynamic Contextualisation and Aggregation
Symbolic Representation
THE INTERNET: FUTURE IMPACT
Personal Identity
Personal Identity and Regime Types
The Changing Social Base
Opium of the People
CONCLUSION
NOTES

BIBLIOGRAPHY

INDEX