Political communication intertwines political science, sociology, communication studies and anthropology and touches on a multitude of other social disciplines. Its object of study and terminology is enriched by this breadth and complements political science with a bridge to understanding the nature of human interaction with political institutions and mutual impacts these interactions inevitably bring.
The course will address the relationship between political systems, media systems and citizens. It will introduce basic concepts of the role of media within a society and in modern democracies. It will derive from communication flows between citizens as recipients of information, media institutions as their emitters and political institutions as dependents on these communication flows. Emphasis will be laid on ways how political institutions communicate with the electorate and what role mass media play in these interactions.
Distinctive emphasis will be laid on the normativity of these interactions. Given communication influences intrinsic aspects of political, social and individual life it cannot be assessed in an ethical vacuum. Therefore the role of the state, rule of law, policy making principles and the way how these aspects of political life can be approached will be intertwined in the lectures of this course so that the adherence or diversions to democratic norms are attended to.
Special attention will be given to electoral campaigns and political mobilization, including its negative aspects and influence on citizenship, trust towards a political system and the rule of law.
The course will furthermore look at the history of electoral campaigns in the Czech Republic, predominantly at those to the House of Representatives and presidential campaigns, and selected aspects of electoral campaigns to other elected bodies.