“Recent years have witnessed momentous change in how political parties mobilize citizens. In this refreshing, imaginative, and conceptually-sophisticated book Paolo Gerbaudo takes us on a compelling journey across Europe to understand the digitally-native parties at the forefront of a profound process of organizational evolution. Contrary to forecasts of their demise, parties are alive and kicking. But in their digital variants they behave very differently from their twentieth century forebears. This book convincingly explains the positive and negative implications of this process—and why it matters for the future of democracy.“
— Andrew Chadwick, author of The Hybrid Media System: Politics and Power
“In a historic moment when political parties are losing their capacity to represent citizens, new party models have grown and often achieved unexpected success. This book is an important contribution to the conceptualization of digital parties and the understanding of their evolution.”
— Donatella Della Porta, Dean of the Institute for Humanities and the Social Sciences, Scuola Normale Superiore and author of Movement Parties in Times of Austerity
“With a rare mix of narrative flair and analytical insight, Gerbaudo tells the riveting story of how tech-savvy leaders and 'connected outsiders' have reshaped politics in the digital era.”
— John Postill, author of The Rise of Nerd Politics
“Paolo Gerbaudo shows how the internet shapes contemporary politics and vice versa. A must read for everyone interested in digital politics.”
— Christian Fuchs, author of Digital Demagogues: Authoritarian Capitalism in the Age of Trump and Twitter