Divided Publics

Digital Media and Public Participation in Wartime Russia
1. Auflage 2026
ISBN: 978-1-5292-5533-1
Verlag: Bristol University Press

Buch, Englisch, 192 Seiten, Format (B × H): 156 mm x 234 mm

Available open access digitally under CC-BY-NC-ND licence.

Digital media can support democracy, freedom, and social cohesion, but it can also erode them.

This book explores that tension through the stories of grassroots volunteer networks in Russia, which emerged on Telegram after February 2022 to support Ukrainian refugees. While most of these networks aim to resist the war-waging Russian state, others seek to advance its aggressive expansionist agenda. Zvonareva examines the deep divide between digitally mediated networks that perform the same humanitarian work — assisting refugees — yet pursue entirely opposing political goals.

This is essential reading for students and scholars of digital media, political participation, and Russian and Eastern European studies.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Zvonareva, Olga

Fachgebiete

• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Militärwesen
• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Soziale Gruppen/Soziale Themen Ethische Themen & Debatten: Wissenschaft, Technologie, Medizin
• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Politische Systeme Totalitarismus & Diktaturen
• Mathematik | Informatik EDV | Informatik EDV & Informatik Allgemein Soziale und ethische Aspekte der EDV

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Introduction

Part I. Politics

Intermezzo 1.1. Politics Beyond the State

Intermezzo 1.2. Rethinking Politics

1. Healthcare: Politics Otherwise

Part II. Participation

Intermezzo 2.1. Diversity of Participation

Intermezzo 2.2. Digital Technologies and Participation

2. A New Ecology of Volunteer Initiatives: Participating by Other Means

Part III. Publics

Intermezzo 3.1. Searching for Publics

Intermezzo 3.2. Publics in the Era of Digitalization

3. 'Patriotic' Initiatives and Divided Publics

Intermezzo 4. Reflections on National Identities

4. A World Less Common

Über Autor(innen)

Olga Zvonareva is an Associate Professor in the Department of Health, Ethics and Society at the Care and Public Health Research Institute (CAPHRI), Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Maastricht University.