The Arab spring, the Obama campaigns, the Gezi Park protests in Turkey, the intensive use of Facebook and Twitter in Danish and international elections. Social media have come to play an important role in everyday politics in democratic countries as well as in uprisings and revolutions against authoritarian regimes.

This research seminar, organised by the Centre for Internet Studies, Aarhus University, highlights and discuss the political use of social media based on experiences from a variety of countries like Denmark, the US, Turkey and the Arab World.

The seminar takes place: Monday September 22^nd 2014 from 12.30 to 16 in ADA building, room 333, Aarhus University Katrinebjerg 

The seminar features five presentations and lot of room for discussions. We start by discussing political involvement in a Danish context, moving on to the wider world and more international perspectives. The order of presentations will be:

• Jakob Linaa Jensen, Aarhus University: Social Media – a critical examination of the democratic perspectives and impacts
• Mads P. Sørensen, Aarhus University: Democratic conversation on Facebook between politicians and citizens
• Arjen van Dalen, University of Southern Denmark: Different campaign, different strategy? The place of social media in the campaign mix during local and national elections
• Kamil Demirhan, Hacettepe University, Ankara: Social Media Effects on the Gezi Park Movement in Turkey: Politics under Hashtags
• Rasmus Kleis Nielsen, Roskilde University: Mundane Internet Tools, the Risk of Exclusion, and Reflexive Movements—Occupy Wall Street and Political Uses of Digital Networked Technologies

Everybody is welcome. For purposes of planning, please sign up for the seminar by sending an e-mail to linaa@dac.au.dk.

See the abstracts of presentations below.