Abstract

This state of the art essay examines past and current research on the topic of politics and the web. First of all, we define the three main stages in the evolution of relations between politics and the web, in order to contextualize the present situation. Secondly, we analyze the main fields of research in political communication in the age of social networks, with particular attention to the central role assumed by Twitter. The essay ends focusing the switch from the «web politics» to the «networked politics», with an overview of most important studies about the new digital environments impact on organizational forms of politics and of political communication.