Special Issue on Democracy in Motion: Electoral Practices Worldwide
Special Issue on Democracy in Motion: Electoral Practices Worldwide
Elections are the lifeblood of democratic societies, shaping political leadership, civic engagement, national discourse, and public perception. Over time, they have evolved into intricate communication phenomena. From televised debates and political advertisements to meme-driven discourses and disinformation campaigns, communication technologies and mediated narratives play a critical role in influencing electoral outcomes.
Recent scholarship underscores the performative and mediated nature of elections worldwide. The construction of politically conscious identities, the strategic deployment of mainstream rhetoric, and the algorithmic amplification of content are some of the key ways in which communication shapes electoral outcomes. However, electoral communication is far from uniform across regions. While Western democracies contend with deepening political polarization and disinformation (Bennett & Livingston, 2018), countries in the Global South grapple with challenges such as media capture, electoral violence, and censorship (Manor, 2019). These regional specificities call for a closer examination of how global media forces intersect with local cultural contexts to shape the contours of election communication.
Elections in South Asia have recently illustrated signs of democratic recalibration, with voters prioritizing economic concerns and democratic accountability over personality-driven or identity-based politics. This trend suggests a growing preference for more pluralistic and issue-focused governance. Globally, populist actors continue to exploit diverse agendas, ranging from left-wing economic justice to right-wing ethno-nationalism, without adhering to coherent ideological platforms. These actors often circumvent traditional media channels by leveraging social media to disseminate emotionally charged and polarizing content. Both left- and right-wing populist movements have effectively harnessed public discontent around corruption and inequality, often at the expense of democratic norms (Liddiard, 2019).
India presents a particularly compelling case in this regard. As the country edges toward what scholars term an ‘electoral autocracy’, marked by declining democratic indicators, the use of populist tactics to consolidate power, weaken institutional checks, and frame the public against perceived elites becomes increasingly evident (Tripurdaman, 2023). Understanding the dynamics of electoral communication in India, within the broader South Asian context and in relation to global trends, is therefore both timely and critical.
This special issue of the Journal of Communication and Culture Review (CCR) invites scholarly contributions that critically examine the intersections of elections, communication practices, and cultural contexts across the world. We seek comparative, interdisciplinary, and global perspectives that explore how political communication is shaped by media systems, cultural identities, technological affordances, and historical legacies.
CCR invites empirical, theoretical, and methodological papers on, but not limited to, the following themes:
- Media Reportage of Elections
- Social Media and Electoral Battles
- Elections and Popular Ethos
- Political Advertising and Communication Policies
- Electoral Surveillance and Datafication
- Civic Engagement and Media Literacy
- Electoral Violence and Communication Blackouts (such as Internet shutdowns)
- Indigenous, Local, and Marginalized Voices
- Election Commissions in the Democratic Societies
The journal welcomes research articles (6000–8000 words), theoretical essays, and short commentaries or case studies. All submissions should adhere to the journal’s formatting and citation guidelines (APA 7th Edition). Submissions should be original and not under consideration elsewhere.
Few Dates to remember:
Full paper submission: Dec 31, 2026 (Thursday)
Notification of acceptance: Jan 15, 2027 (Friday)
Expected publication date: April 15, 2027 (Thursday)
References:
Bennett, W. L., & Livingston, S. (2018). The disinformation order: Disruptive communication and the decline of democratic institutions. European Journal of Communication, 33(2), 122–139.
Manor, I. (2019). The digitalization of public diplomacy. Springer.
Patrick Liddiard (2019). Is Populism Really a Problem for Democracy? Wilson Centre
Tripurdaman SIngh (2023). The Authoritarian Roots of India's Democracy. Journal of Democracy. July 2023.
Van Aelst, P., et al. (2017). Political communication in a high-choice media environment: A challenge for democracy? Annals of the International Communication Association, 41(1), 3–27.
Waisbord, S. (2018). The elective affinity between post-truth communication and populist politics. Communication Research and Practice, 4(1), 17–34.
