Browsing by Author "Wadbring, ingela"

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    After the Performance
    (Nordic Council of Ministers, Nordicom, 2015-10-21) Valtysson, Bjarki; Wadbring, ingela; Nordicom
    In May 2010, the Best Party won the municipal elections in Reykjavik, and the party’s leading figure, comedian Jón Gnarr, was appointed Mayor of Reykjavik. During the election campaign, the party ‘performed democracy’ by playing with irrational, satirical discourses that challenged traditional discourses within political public spheres. Soon after his inauguration, Gnarr began a Facebook page called ‘The Mayor’s Diary’ on which he wrote openly about the challenges faced by a newcomer to politics. Approximately 10% of the Icelandic population follows his profile. This article presents an analysis of the communication conducted on the Mayor’s Diary, particularly of how Facebook as a media environment conditions the Mayor’s performative manoeuvres and, correspondingly, how the subversive discourses galvanised in the election campaign can begin ricocheting back when discussions move from cultural public spheres to political public spheres.
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    Perceptions of Social Media
    (Nordic Council of Ministers, Nordicom, 2015-10-21) Bock Segaard, Signe; Wadbring, ingela; Nordicom
    While observers have focused on the political use of social media when exploring their democratic potential, we know little about users’ perceptions of these media. These perceptions could well be important to understanding the political use of social media. In exploring users’ perceptions, the article asks whether politicians and voters view social media in a similar way, and to what extent they consider social media to be an apt arena for political communication. Within a Norwegian context, which may prove useful as a critical case, and using the technological frames model, we find that although voters’ and politicians’ opinions are not that dissimilar overall, politicians are more likely to recognize the political communicative role of social media. However, social media do indeed have the potential to become arenas for political mobilization among groups that traditionally are less visible in political arenas.