In light of the increased utilization of information technologies such as social media and the
'Internet of Things ' this book investigates how this digital transformation process creates
new challenges and opportunities for political participation political election campaigns and
political regulation of the Internet. Within the context of Western democracies and China the
contributors analyze these challenges and opportunities from three perspectives: the regulatory
state the political use of social media and through the lens of the public sphere. The first
part of the book discusses key challenges for Internet regulation such as data protection and
censorship while the second addresses the use of social media in political communication and
political elections. In turn the third and last part highlights various opportunities offered
by digital media for online civic engagement and protest in the public sphere. Drawing on
different academic fields including political science communication science and journalism
studies the contributors raise a number of innovative research questions and provide
fascinating theoretical and empirical insights into the topic of digital transformation.
