Contents Acknowledgements Introduction: Snapshots from a Revolt PART I: POLITICS AND PARTICIPATION ON THE WEB 1. Democracy, Participation, and Media Connections 2. Force-fields of the Web Environment PART II: EVOLVING FORMS AND PRACTICES 3. Occupy Wall Street: Discursive Strategies and Fields 4. Online Public Intellectuals 5. Web Journalism and Civic Cosmopolitanism: Professional vs. Participatory Ideals PART III: CRITICAL APPROACHES 6. The Civic Subject and Media-Based Agency 7. Critical Media Research: Something Old, New, and Unfinished References

As democracy encounters difficulties, many citizens are turning to the domain of alternative politics and, in so doing, making considerable use of the new communication technologies. This volume analyses the various factors that shape such participation, and addresses such key topics as civic subjectivity, web intellectuals, and cosmopolitanism.

Peter Dahlgren is Professor Emeritus at the Department of Communication and Media at Lund University, Sweden. His work focuses on media and democracy, from the horizons of late modern social and cultural theory. His books include Media and Political Engagement (2009), Young People, ICTs and Democracy (2010) and The Political Web (2013).