Digital Public Sphere, Political Communication, and Algorithmic Democracy International Conference
21 May 2026
Faculty of Law and Political Sciences, University of Szeged
JK101 Faculty Council Room
(6720 Szeged, Hungary Tisza L. krt. 54.)
Contact: Dr. habil. Norbert Merkovity (University of Szeged) at merkovity@juris.u-szeged.hu
Organizers
International Political Science Association RC10 – Electronic Democracy
International Political Science Association RC22 – Political Communication
Legal, Political Aspects of the Digital Public Sphere Research Group of the Centre of Excellence for Interdisciplinary Research, Development and Innovation of the University of Szeged
Department of Political Science, Faculty of Law and Political Sciences, University of Szeged
Local Organizer:
Dr. habil. Norbert Merkovity, University of Szeged
Members of the Scientific Committee:
Prof. Domagoj Bebić, University of Zagreb
Prof. Javier García Marín, University of Granada
Prof. Magdalena Musiał-Karg, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan
Dr. Orsolya Szabó Palócz, University of Szeged
Conference scope
This conference brings together scholars working at the intersection of digital democracy, political communication, and the transformation of the public sphere under platformized and data-driven conditions. The programme explores how political meaning is produced, circulated, contested, and institutionalized in contemporary digital environments, with particular attention to algorithmic mediation, artificial intelligence, short-form video platforms, media visibility, and the changing logics of political leadership and participation. Across different national and comparative perspectives, the papers address a broad range of interconnected questions, including how digital publics are shaped by identity formation and conflict, how AI increasingly influences democratic resilience and political agency, how machine learning can be used as a methodological tool in political communication research, how short-form video reconfigures attention and political subjectivity, how electoral campaigns unfold in hybrid and platform-dependent media environments, and how democracies respond to hybrid threats and new communicative vulnerabilities. By combining conceptual, methodological, and empirical contributions, the conference aims to deepen our understanding of the digital public sphere as a dynamic arena in which political actors, citizens, technologies, and institutions continuously negotiate legitimacy, visibility, and power.
Programme
09:30–10:00 Registration
(Faculty of Law and Political Sciences, University of Szeged 6720 Szeged, Tisza L. krt. 54.)
10:00–10:05 Welcome remarks
10:05–11:40
Panel 1: Digital Public Sphere, AI, and Algorithmic Politics
(chair: Péter Bence Stumpf)
10:05–10:20
Norbert Merkovity (University of Szeged, Hungary)
From Digital Supplement to Organising Medium: The Late Fourth Age of Hungarian Political Communication
10:20–10:35
Orsolya Szabó Palócz (University of Szeged, Hungary)
From Identity to Enmity: Political Meaning-Making in the Digital Public Sphere
10:35–10:50
Magdalena Musiał-Karg (Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan, Poland)
Trusting Digital Democracy? Public Attitudes Toward Internet Voting in Poland: Between Trust and Skepticism (co-authored with David Duenas-Cid)
10:50–11:05
Javier García Marín (University of Granada, Spain)
Using Machine Learning in Political Communication: Locating Political Leaders on TV
11:05–11:20
Ignacio Jesús Serrano (University of Granada, Spain)
The Semantic Trace: NLP-Driven Analysis of Post-materialist Values in Spanish Law
11:20–11:40
Discussion
11:40–12:00 Coffee break
12:00–13:40
Panel 2: Platforms, Campaigns, and Emerging Challenges
(chair: Orsolya Szabó Palócz)
12:00–12:15
Óscar García Luengo (University of Granada, Spain)
The Homo Algorithmus in the Age of Short-Form Video
12:15–12:30
Viktória Zakinszky Toma (University of Novi Sad, Serbia)
Narratives of War and Peace in the Communication Strategy of the Political Elite in Serbia
12:30–12:45
Domagoj Bebić (University of Zagreb, Croatia)
Digital Battleground: Political Communication in the 2025 Local Elections in Split
12:45–13:00
Robert Imre (University of the Faroe Islands)
Hybrid Threats, Preparedness, and Political Communication
13:00–13:15
Péter Bence Stumpf (University of Szeged, Hungary)
Strategic Considerations Regarding Early Parliamentary Elections
13:15–13:40
Discussion and general remarks
13:40 Lunch
