University of Bamberg
open search form
You are here

Faculty of Social Sciences, Economics, and Business Administration

Political Science, especially Digital Transformation

  1.  University of bamberg
  2. Faculties
  3. Social Sciences, Economics and Business Administration
  4. Subjects and Institutes
  5. Political Science
  6. Chairs and Professorships
  7. Political Science, especially Digital Transformation

Political Science, especially Digital Transformation

How do digital media impact the public arena?

Important topics are discussed and negotiated in the public arena. Digital media create new structures hosting the public arena while weakening others, such as traditional mass media. At the same time, they change information flows, the form and tone of discussion, and influence the success of selected actors. We outline and explain this new digital public arena.

Digital Transformations of the Public Arena (Cambridge University Press, 2022)

How do digital media change politics?

Digital media are an integral part of politics and political communication. Politics and civil society use digital media for information, discussion, and mobilization. Digital media are changing the way politics is made, people inform themselves, and participate in politics. Our research contributes to a better understanding and governance of these processes.

Retooling Politics: How Digital Media are Shaping Democracy(Cambridge University Press, 2020)

What are the opportunities and dangers of artificial intelligence for democracy and the public arena?

The successes of artificial intelligence (AI) have increased interest in its economic, social, and political impact. However, this discussion is often dominated by unfocused fears. We investigate and explain the influence of AI on democracy and the public sphere in a pragmatic and empirically justified manner.

Artificial intelligence and the public arena

Artificial Intelligence and Democracy: A Conceptual Framework

What is the potential of computational social science for research?

Computational Social Science(CSS) investigates human behavior and social systems using computer-aided methods. The close interdisciplinary cooperation between social sciences, computer science and natural sciences is characteristic of CSS.

We use CSS to gain insight into new phenomena triggered by digitization and to open new perspectives on classical research interests in social science.

Computational Social Science

At the Chair of Political Science, especially Digital Transformation we investigate the influence of digital media on society and politics.

We are interested in how societies deal with the digital transformation. This includes attempts to promote and manage digital change and identify risks at an early stage. At the same time, we also investigate adaptation processes triggered by digital change in society, organizations, and institutions.

In doing so, we concentrate on the following topics:

  • Artificial Intelligence (AI);
  • Computational Social Science (CSS);
  • Digitally transformed public arena;
  • Political communication.

The chair is part of interdisciplinary research and teaching programs at the University of Bamberg in the field of computational social science.

For example, we cooperate closely with economics and computer science.

In our teaching, we train students to independently investigate and answer questions in these subject areas in contexts of scientific and practical relevance. This includes instructions for theory-driven empirical work, for example in the use of advanced computer-aided, data-intensive methods but also in the form of surveys, experiments, or text analysis.

You can attend our courses in the BA and MA courses of the institute for Political Science at the University of Bamberg. You will find our courses in the Bachelor  Computational Economics and Politics (CEP) and the Master of Arts in Political Science with a focus on  Computational Social Sciences (CSS).