Research Handbook on Political Propaganda

This timely Research Handbook draws on a wide range of international case studies to assess the transformative impact of modern communication landscapes on political propaganda. From Brexit to Donald Trump, from presidential elections in Mexico to political rallies in India, from ‘fake news’ to Cambridge Analytica, contributors demonstrate the ways in which growing digital platforms have amplified the reach and influence of political propaganda.

International contributors dissect current political contexts, with a key focus on the growth of populism, nationalism, and alt-right politics, to understand how propaganda contributes to the formation and organization of political cultures. Chapters pay close attention to recent election campaigns across Europe, Asia, and the Americas and analyse political and cultural information wars that have been fuelled by misinformation and the so-called ‘fake news’ in digital media. Bringing together pioneering empirical research into contemporary communication, campaigning, journalism, and new media in a new political age, this Research Handbook provides a critical understanding of how propaganda contributes to the modern exercise of power globally.

Offering interdisciplinary perspectives on an issue at the forefront of contemporary politics, this Research Handbook is a crucial resource for both scholars and students of international politics and relations, security, communications, and media studies. Its practical insights into political campaigning and new media will also benefit policymakers, governments, and citizens in handling key challenges posed to the healthy functioning of political systems by propaganda.

Edited by Gary D. Rawnsley, Professor of Public Diplomacy, School of International Studies and Dean, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Nottingham Ningbo China, China, Yiben Ma, Convenor of the Preliminary Year Programme for International Communications, Centre for English Language Education, University of Nottingham Ningbo China, China and Kruakae Pothong, Visiting Research Fellow, Department of Media and Communications, London School of Economics and Political Science, UK