Work

Maduro's Machines Against Paper Coalitions: Party Digitalization and Narratives on Machine Voting in Bulgaria

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Party digitalisation has become an increasingly significant aspect of European parties' organisational work. The literature has explored the sources and effects of party digitalisation, but its influence on political processes remains understudied. This article fills this gap by investigating the contribution of party digitalisation to policy narratives on e‐voting. It focusses on the debates about the restoration of a dual voting method, combining paper ballots and machine voting, in Bulgaria in late 2022. In particular, it performs a narrative analysis on the policy narratives of the political parties represented in the Bulgarian parliament. This exemplary case demonstrates that the level of party digitalisation provides an important context for understanding the policy narratives of these parties. These findings have important implications for the study of party digitalisation. Future works may need to consider party digitalisation as part of political parties' public image.

Source: Swiss Political Science Review

DOI: 10.1111/spsr.12648

Author: Petar Bankov

Institution: University of Glasgow

Language: English

Topic: Electoral Systems and Political Participation

Subfield: Political Science and International Relations

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Peace, justice, and strong institutions

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,140