Public spheres, political crisis and the Internet: the rise of the Podemos party

Abstract

The rise of the political party Podemos, within the context of a crisis in political representation, can be explained from a perspective of transformative interactions between public spheres, social movements and new technologies. The emergence of the 15M movement allowed Podemos to offer a new diagnosis of politics that has been actively promoted on social media, which represent a true campaign platform for low-budget parties. An analysis of Twitter and Facebook reveals the rapid growth of Podemos, its prominence on social networks, the profile of its followers and its most influential publications in these new discourses. Lastly, we analyze the challenges for this type of party in terms of incorporating into the political panorama in Spain and in Europe.

public spheres; crisis; Internet; Podemos; España