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.

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

"Dahlgren reflects with great clarity and insight upon forms of 'alternative' or 'extra-parliamentary' online political action. This is an under-studied theme and this book will contribute to the literature in ways that previous studies of the Internet and political democracy have not." - Stephen Coleman, University of Leeds, UK