This book has dealt with two research questions: how does digital media use
influence political engagement, and which contextual variables may condition
this relationship? The evidence analyzed across the fifteen cases considered in
this book suggests that engagement with digital environments is having an effect
on users and that contextual features play a significant role in shaping digital
politics.
The cases presented in this volume have isolated evidence for both cross-national
generalizations and system-level effects, indicating that the role of a
particular variable depends on its interaction with institutional elements,
media systems, and the digital divide in a political system. In addition, the
cases provide evidence that digital media create political opportunity
structures in political systems, which in turn depend on contextual factors. We
first consider the evidence linking digital media use to higher levels of
political engagement, and we then move to the question of the role of contextual
features of political systems and their immediate environments in shaping the
development of digital politics in a polity.
Political Engagement around the World
The most sustained empirical observation throughout the analyses carried out in
this volume is that, despite all the nuances, there is evidence of a positive
and significant effect of digital media on political engagement, regardless of
the political context under consideration. In particular, the research assembled
here shows that internet use is positively associated with a variety of forms of
political engagement – both behavioral and attitudinal. Jorba and
Bimber’s as well as Chadwick’s review of the literature show that
this is consistent with the preponderance of previous research regarding digital
media. This has been confirmed throughout the book, ranging from electoral
turnout in the 2008 U.S. elections to critical evaluations of the current regime
in China. That this finding holds up independent of themethodology used and the
context involved demonstrates its robustness.