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Among the many features that go hand in hand with the recent onset of populism in many countries, an interesting phenomenon is surely the shift of public discourse in the direction of social media. Is there anything special about communication in social media that is particularly suitable for the development of such movements and ideas? In what follows, I provide an attempt to read Facebook comments as showing an anaphoric structure. This analysis permits me to give emphasis on a number of interesting features that such communications exhibit. Finally, I try also to highlight some of the main implications of this model in comparison with ordinary communication.

This study takes as its point of departure the theorizing on citizenship and globalization. Today it is common to discuss a "flexible" citizenship beyond the paradigm of the nationstate, which, besides its legal aspects of rights and obligations, also includes identification with and participation in various communities, primarily political ones. "Politics", in this context, is considered to be constituted on the micro-level, discursively between individuals (e.g. Laclau and Mouffe 1985). The aim of the study is to, through the study of collective meaning making, contribute to the theory building about citizenship and globalization. The study consists of three cases, each of which attracted much media attention, with varying degrees of proximity and distance. The construction of political community, on various levels on the globalization scale (subnational, national, transnational) within the collective meaning making, is studied. The aim of the study also includes the analysis of the discursive resources that are used for the making of meaning. "External" discourses such as media messages and interpersonal communication are analyzed as well as "internal" ones: e.g. values, norms, identifications and experiences. In addition, the study aims at localizing the construction of meaning and community within the structural context , and relating it to current structures of power. The thesis is concluded with a suggestion of how to relate the discursive construction of political identity to deliberative democracy theory. The empirical material is collected by means of focus-groups interviews, including 2–5 people, with a total of 133 respondents. The transcribed material is analyzed by means of critical discourse analysis, CDA. The study identifies two different types of identity constructions: processes of nationalization, where the experienced Swedish identity and community function normatively in the making of meaning, and processes of subnationalization, among those groups that somehow felt excluded from and mistreated by the national (Swedish) environment. The thesis concludes that the collective making of meaning within an assumed national community contains ideological elements and works to a large extent in the service of power. However, the subnationally compressed communities create meaning in an oppositional manner, compared with the nationalized community and in relation to structures of power. Active citizenship is thus best located in conflict, among groups that experience exclusion and oppression in different situations (Mouffe 1995b). If this is right, the focus must shift from consensus to communication, efforts to open up discursive bridges between the hegemonic community and dissident voices should be made (c.f. Aronowitz 1995). An important space for transgressing communication is of course the media. However, the study shows that the media must deal with some problems before they are ready to serve as discursive bridges, for instance the tendency to make the factual antagonisms subordinate to homogenizing emotional reporting. In addition, there seems to exist a need for the political institutions to move beyond the paradigm of the nation-state, and find other frameworks for the democratic processes, not least at the subnational level. Thus, instead of discussing either a global or a national citizenship one could, with Habermas (2001), reflect on a postnational citizenship relating to the reflexive transformation of national civic sovereignty into subnational and supranational citizenship.

Mediatization and Power: An Analysis of the Media's Political Influence. During the last few decades it has become increasingly common to characterize modern politics as mediated and mediatized. Problematic, though, is that both concepts are referred to more often than they are properly defined, and that there is a deficit in systematic empirical studies on the degree to which politics has become mediatized. Against this background, the purpose of this article is to analyze the concepts of "mediated" and "mediatized" politics, and to empirically investigate how Swedish members of parliament and political journalists perceive the media's political influence. The theoretical analysis suggests that the mediatization of politics should be understood as a multidimensional concept, whereas the empirical results show that both members of parliament and political journalists believe that the media do have extensive influence over politics as well as the general public.

The contribution aims, in its first part, at framing the populist phe-nomenon from the point of view of historical and political evolution of two interrelated processes: the praise of the direct representation of the popular will and the criticism and de-legitimization of the elite. These processes find a sudden acceleration at the time of disinter-mediation, which clearly demonstrates its dual nature as an object of study between politics and communication. The ability of political leaders to bypass the traditional structures of mediation (from Par-liament, in reference to political action, to the legacy media, in refer-ence to the relationship with the public) becomes over time directly proportional to their ability to adapt to the media logic. In the age of the hybrid media system, therefore, the strength of the populist leader lies in a careful use of old and new media, according to stra-tegic schemes and communicative styles that are summarized in the case studies selected in the second part of the contribution

Society and Identity- Developments and Challenges in Swedish Youth Politics in the 1990´s. There are many ways to describe and value young people's interest and engagement in politics. While some defend extraparliamentarian activism as an important road to political engagement, others stress the need for young people to become familiar with the political system. These two contradictory views express a common concern for the importance of involving the young in the political process – this is an issue that the system has to deal with. Should the established political system affirm the youths' active participation and desire to make a change? Is it possible to do this without a loss of respect for democracy? Is it possible to develop democracy without changing it radically Behind these questions, lies the deeper question about how the established democratic system, in practice in the state and municipalities, handle a) the political involvement of youths and b) the transmission of democratic values to new generations. Furthermore, these questions are based on the fundamental assumption that a democratic culture can only be communicated and upheld through processes of political socialization, where norms, knowledge and values are passed on from one generation to the next. In order for this particular kind of communication to succeed, it is crucial that people see their citizenship in a democratic society as an important part of their identity. One of the main functions of the democratic political system is to create and uphold identities and attitudes that are intimately connected to the system itself. Therefore, the political institutions are central actors in the communication process of political socialization. Communication is a paradoxical concept. It is a human activity that everyone is involved in, but few can define unambiguously. Professor James Carey, who analyses the concept in Communication as culture, essays on media and society (1989), introduced the idea of communication as ritual. Although broad in meaning, this definition highlights communication as central in the construction of both society and identity. Society exists and works through the communication between people and because we learn the codes of interaction that exist in the societal context: But, whatever the details of the production and reproduction of social life, it is through communication, through the intergraded relations of symbols and social structure, that societies, or at least those with we are most familiar, are created, maintained, and transformed. In this dissertation, the notion that communication is pivotal in the formation of both society and identities, is fundamental. Communication is the core of democratic development and the passing on of democratic values from one generation to the next. Political socialization is a question of communication processes. Objective and research questions The objective of this dissertation is to investigate how the main actors in the Swedish political system; the state and the municipalities, deal with processes of society- and identity formation. This is achieved through an analysis of the perspectives on political socialization that are expressed by these actors in youth politics in the 1990's. Three main research questions are central in this dissertation: Do the state and the municipalities understand their role in the process of political socialization as mainly hierachical or interactive? How is the role of the youth construed by these actors? Are they seen as active or passive in the process of political socialization? Do these actors regard political socialization chiefly as a matter of continuation or as development? Over the years, political socialization research has generated different views on the youth, democracy development and the political system. Early research tended to regard the youth as a passive group in a hierarchical political system that acted mainly on behalf of it's own preservation. This perspective saw political socialization as a matter of teaching the young to assimilate to the existing political system. Later research has shown that the process is more interactive than was previously thought: youths are influenced, but at the same time they also influence others. This shift in perspective raises questions of how the political system construes the process of political socialization, it's own role in this process, the role the youth and ultimately; how democracy best can be developed. Conclusion The findings of the different studies in this dissertation show an overwhelmingly hierarchical construal of political socialization by the state and the municipalities. The idea of interactivity and development, advocated by later research, is only visible in some of the municipalities. Furthermore, youths are considered as having some political awareness, but this awareness needs to be cultivated through teaching. Therefore, youths are seen as passive receivers in the communicative process of political socialization – and not as active participants. At the same time, –on a rhetorical level–both the state and the municipalities express an ambition to create possibilities for youths to take responsibility and to find their own organizational solutions for political engagement. However, this dissertation also shows that this ambition is nowhere matched by any willingness to change the existing system, if that is what is required in order for the youth to develop own organizational solutions. The state regards the process of political socialization from a perspective of continuation and conservation. Youths are therefore mainly seen as a problem until they have reached a level of political awareness that allows them to function within the existing political system. The municipalities wants to get involved in the political socialization of youths through their "youth-councils", but it is obvious that the main perspective is one of socialization into the existing political system. In order to be able to participate and have influence on decision-making, youths have to learn the form and the language required by the existing political system. It is not, according to the municipalities, the system that needs to change. The state and the municipalities consider youths as mouldable object that also have the ability to participate and shape society. When the states and municipalities' assumptions about the youth's political interests and enthusiasm do not correlate to the youth's, the process of identity-formation becomes paradoxical. A hierarchical system meets young people who do not want to interact with the system. A system aimed at its own continuation and preservation of the existing order, that mainly aims to teach youths to fit into the system, will meet youths who want to create new forms of organizations. Therefore, when the state and municipalities in the ambition of socializing youths into the political system, shut the door to real participation and influence that would mean actual change and development, it is perhaps not so surprising that some youths canalize their political commitment through extraparliamentary activism. On a rhetorical level everyone applauds ideas of development of the political system. But in reality, the state and the municipalities regard this development as challenging when the suggested changes threatens the established order.

Unanimously the international research recognizes the fundamental role of the media in the affirmation of the phenomenon of stalking in the U.S.A., beginning from its same labelling. Star-stalking cases, accomplice the notoriety of the victims, has represented a starting point of the media interest that next has allowed to discover the prevalence of these conducts among the general population. The progressive social visibility of the phenomenon, promoted through the media, has produced the recognition of the stalking as a criminal problem, pushing the common law countries legislators to the creation of specific anti-stalking legislation. The research intends to investigate the role of the Italian media in the process of social and juridical affirmation of stalking, ended with the approval of the DL 23 February 2009 n.11 and the consequent introduction of the article 612-bis c.p. "Atti persecutori". The relationship between stalking and media in Italy, the relevance and the importance of the progressive change of social visibility, considering the particular way of working of the media, has been investigated through the collection and the analysis of the articles published since 1992 to November 2009 on Corriere della Sera, main national diffusion daily paper, and on Quotidiano.net, that brings the news of different local journalistic headings (Resto del Carlino, La Nazione, Il Giorno). The 506 selected articles, 293 published on Corriere della Sera (57,9%) e 213 on Quotidiano.net (42,1%), have globally been submitted to a first level of analysis based on the context of the article, the typology of content, the ability of recognition and the language used to define the behaviors. The second level of analysis has involved only news articles, studied through valutative analysis grids about victims, stalkers, typology of relationship, star-stalking cases and presence of violent behaviors. The typology of article mostly diffused on newspapers results to be the chronicle, that represents the 84,6% of the total. Popular and/or scientific ones represent the 7,7% of the total as medium value of the period, but their diffusion results constant only starting from 2001. The political news are the 5,7% of the total and they are recognisable starting from 2006. The use of the term stalking appears constantly among the media from 2002 with a progressive increasement in the next years (44% in 2007; 52,1% in 2008; 94% in 2009), representing by now the defining term of the phenomenon. Among 449 victims, found from 1992 to 2009, 372 (82,9%) are women. Among 440 stalker, found from 1992 to 2009, 84,3% are men and only 15,7% women. More than half of the stalkers was an ex-partner of the victim (51,2%). The stalker results to be an acquaintance in 24,3% of the cases and a perfect stranger in 24,5%. On 428 chronicle articles selected since 1992 to 2009, more than the half (51,4%) describes stories of stalking connotated by violent behaviors: physical injuries, assaults (also sexual), tempted and consumed homicides. ; La ricerca internazionale concordemente riconosce il ruolo determinante dei media nel percorso di affermazione del fenomeno dello stalking in U.S.A., a partire dal suo stesso "etichettamento". I casi di star-stalking, complice la notorietà delle vittime, hanno rappresentato un iniziale polarizzatore mediatico che ha successivamente permesso la riconoscibilità delle condotte di molestie a danno della popolazione comune. La progressiva visibilità sociale del fenomeno, promossa per via mediale, ha poi determinato il riconoscimento dello stalking quale problematica di rilevanza penale, spingendo il legislatore anglosassone all'emanazione di apposite leggi anti-stalking. Alla luce di queste considerazioni, lo studio qui presentato intende indagare il ruolo dei media italiani nel processo di affermazione sociale e giuridica dello stalking, culminato con l'approvazione del DL 23 febbraio 2009 n.11 e la conseguente introduzione dell'art. 612-bis c.p. "Atti persecutori". Alla luce di queste considerazioni, lo studio qui presentato intende indagare il ruolo dei media italiani nel processo di affermazione sociale e giuridica dello stalking, culminato con l'approvazione del DL 23 febbraio 2009 n.11 e la conseguente introduzione dell'art. 612-bis c.p. "Atti persecutori". Il rapporto tra stalking e mass media in Italia, l'entità e l'importanza del progressivo mutamento della sua osservabilità sociale, anche, e soprattutto, alla luce del peculiare funzionamento dei media è stato indagato mediante la raccolta e l'analisi degli articoli pubblicati dal gennaio 1992 all'aprile 2009 sul Corriere della Sera, principale quotidiano a diffusione nazionale, e su Quotidiano.net, che riporta le notizie di diverse testate giornalistiche a diffusione locale (Resto del Carlino, La Nazione, Il Giorno). I 506 articoli selezionati, 293 pubblicati sul Corriere della Sera (pari al 57,9%) e 213 su Quotidiano.net (pari al 42,1%), sono stati globalmente sottoposti a un primo livello di analisi basato sul contesto dell'articolo, ovvero la tipologia di contenuto, la capacità di riconoscimento e il linguaggio utilizzato per la definizione delle condotte. Il secondo livello di analisi ha coinvolto i soli articoli di cronaca, sottoposti a griglie valutative riguardanti le vittime, gli stalker, la tipologia di relazione intercorrente tra gli stessi, i casi di star-stalking e la ricorrenza di condotte violente. La tipologia di articolo maggiormente diffusa sui quotidiani risulta essere la cronaca, che rappresenta l'84,6% del totale.Gli articoli di tipo divulgativo e/o scientifico rappresentano il 7,7% del totale quale media del periodo, ma la loro diffusione sui quotidiani risulta costante solo a partire dal 2001. Le notizie di tipo politico rappresentano il 5,7% del totale e sono rintracciabili solo a partire dal 2006. L'uso del termine stalking da parte dei media risulta costante a partire dal 2002 con un aumento progressivo negli anni successivi (44% nel 2007; 52,1% nel 2008; 94% nel 2009) tanto da rappresentare, ormai, il termine di riferimento del fenomeno. Su 449 vittime individuate dal 1992 al 2009, ben 372 (pari all'82,9%) sono donne. Su 440 stalker individuati tra il 1992 e il 2009 l'84,3% sono uomini e solo il 15,7% donne. Più della metà degli stalker era un ex-partner della vittima (51,2%). Lo stalker risulta essere un conoscente della vittima nel 24,3% dei casi e un perfetto sconosciuto nel 24,5%. Su 428 articoli di cronaca selezionati dal 1992 al 2009, più della metà (51,4%) riportano vicende di stalking marcatamente connotate da condotte violente: percosse, lesioni personali, aggressioni (anche sessuali), omicidi tentati e consumati.