Politicians of today have manifold opportunities to be in contact with voters. They can communicate through traditional means of communication such as the news media, or they can turn to a variety of social media platforms to have a more direct and continuous dialogue with voters. In the PhD thesis, Majbritt K. Severin-Nielsen examines how politicians develop communication strategies within the current media environment, and what can explain their behaviors.

Methodologically, she examines this through a combined study of Danish parliamentarians’ communication behaviors over a 2-year period and an interview study of their strategic considerations about communicating in the current media environment. This research design enables her to go beyond the dominant structural explanation and examine more individual-level factors influencing politicians’ communication behaviors.

The PhD dissertation further contributes with new perspectives on how changes in the media environment impacts individual politicians and democracy at large.