All Outputs (23)

Trust without knowledge? UK intelligence agencies and the public trust conundrum (2025)
Journal Article

Intelligence agencies operating in modern-day liberal democracies are dependent on the public for support. In recent years, the UK’s intelligence and security agencies have adopted a public facing role aiming to build ‘trust’ and developing wider pub... Read More about Trust without knowledge? UK intelligence agencies and the public trust conundrum.

‘Masked Morality, a new theory variant to explain the changes in British gambling policy 2005-2023' (2025)
Thesis

This thesis considers British gambling policy since the passing of the Gambling Act 2005 until the publication of the Gambling White Paper on the 27th April 2023. It argues that overall, this policy has been a success but that vocal policy actors ha... Read More about ‘Masked Morality, a new theory variant to explain the changes in British gambling policy 2005-2023'.

Fact of Fiction? UK Intelligence Agencies' Representation in the Press (2024)
Journal Article

In recent years, much has been written about the ‘openness’
of modern-day intelligence agencies and the role of the press. It has been argued that openness and wider engagement fits a pattern of manipulation, presenting a soften image of agencies t... Read More about Fact of Fiction? UK Intelligence Agencies' Representation in the Press.

Public Perceptions of UK Intelligence: Still in the Dark? (2022)
Journal Article
Lomas, D. W. B., & Ward, S. (2022). Public Perceptions of UK Intelligence: Still in the Dark?. RUSI Journal, 167(2), 10-22. https://doi.org/10.1080/03071847.2022.2090426

Opinion polling of public attitudes on the UK’s intelligence agencies reveals that Britons are often still ambivalent around issues of agency activity and powers despite increasing engagement and outreach activity. Drawing parallels with similar poll... Read More about Public Perceptions of UK Intelligence: Still in the Dark?.

SNSs and deliberative governance in a polarised society : the role of WhatsApp groups in Kenyan counties (2020)
Thesis
Kibet, A. SNSs and deliberative governance in a polarised society : the role of WhatsApp groups in Kenyan counties. (Thesis). University of Salford

Kenya has experienced polarisation that has sometimes resulted in conflict. As a remedy, the Kenyan constitution, reviewed in 2010, and other legislation prescribes deliberative governance as one of the solutions to polarisation in sub-national Kenya... Read More about SNSs and deliberative governance in a polarised society : the role of WhatsApp groups in Kenyan counties.

From bad to worse? The media and the 2019 election campaign (2020)
Journal Article
Wring, D., & Ward, S. (2020). From bad to worse? The media and the 2019 election campaign. Parliamentary Affairs, 73(Sup. 1), 272-287. https://doi.org/10.1093/pa/gsaa033

From Twitter to the BBC, media platforms were perceived as having had ‘a bad election’. The story of the 2019 media campaign focussed primarily on the negative. There were continual claims of misinformation and deliberate disinformation spread via so... Read More about From bad to worse? The media and the 2019 election campaign.

Turds, traitors and tossers : the abuse of UK MPs via Twitter (2020)
Journal Article

There has been growing public attention around the abuse of MPs online including criminal convictions for violent threats, regular coverage of racist and misogynistic language directed at representatives. Yet, the extent of the problem and patterns o... Read More about Turds, traitors and tossers : the abuse of UK MPs via Twitter.

Hello World: GCHQ, Twitter & Social Media Engagement (2020)
Journal Article

In May 2016, Britain’s signals intelligence agency the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) joined the social media platform Twitter with the message ‘Hello, world’. For an agency once seen as the UK’s ‘most secret’, GCHQ’s moved to social m... Read More about Hello World: GCHQ, Twitter & Social Media Engagement.

How social media is changing political representation in the United Kingdom (2019)
Thesis
McLoughlin, L. (in press). How social media is changing political representation in the United Kingdom. (Thesis). University of Salford

Since the introduction of social media into everyday communication, a series of claims and
counterclaims have been made about its potential to either rectify or exacerbate the so-called
crisis within representative democracy. Theoretical arguments... Read More about How social media is changing political representation in the United Kingdom.

A tale of three tribes : UK MPs, Twitter and the EU Referendum (2019)
Journal Article

This paper examines the structure of Twitter communication networks between MPs during the 2016 EU Referendum campaign. In particular, the research examines the impact of Twitter in two dimensions: (1) how far social media might facilitate inter-part... Read More about A tale of three tribes : UK MPs, Twitter and the EU Referendum.

Socially Networked Heterogeneity: The Influence of WhatsApp as a Social Networking Site on Polarisation in Kenya (2019)
Journal Article

Using a cross-sectional survey of two sampled counties in Kenya, this article analyses whether social networking sites reflect social network heterogeneity. It then examines how social network heterogeneity influences polarisation in Kenya. Three typ... Read More about Socially Networked Heterogeneity: The Influence of WhatsApp as a Social Networking Site on Polarisation in Kenya.

Out with the old in with the new? The media campaign (2018)
Journal Article
Ward, S., & Wring, D. (2018). Out with the old in with the new? The media campaign. Parliamentary Affairs, 71(S1), 203-221. https://doi.org/10.1093/pa/gsx057

The 2017 General Election will likely be remembered as the campaign where the once dominant forms of TV and print journalism were challenged by digital platforms. This chapter analyses this development while also acknowledging that social media netwo... Read More about Out with the old in with the new? The media campaign.

Digital campaigning (2017)
Book Chapter

It is now over 20 years since political parties began to move online and fight elections using new internet technologies, although in most established democracies it took another decade, or more, before internet access spread to the majority of voter... Read More about Digital campaigning.

MPs, Twitter & the EU referendum campaign (2016)
Presentation / Conference
Ward, S., Mcloughlin, L., Gibson, R., & Southern, R. (2016, September). MPs, Twitter & the EU referendum campaign. Presented at Elections Parties and Opinion Polls Annual Conference, University of Kent, UK

In the UK, as in many democracies there has been a rapid rise of MPs using Twitter over the past six years. From being a relative novelty in 2010, over one parliamentary cycle, the technology had been normalized by 2015 with 576 MPs having Twitter ac... Read More about MPs, Twitter & the EU referendum campaign.

Exit velocity : the media election (Review) (2015)
Journal Article
Wring, D., & Ward, S. (2015). Exit velocity : the media election (Review). Parliamentary Affairs, 68(suppl), 224-240. https://doi.org/10.1093/pa/gsv037

Introduction : the importance of method in the study of the ‘Political Internet’ (2014)
Book Chapter
Sudulich, L., Wall, M., Gibson, R., Cantijoch, M., & Ward, S. (2014). Introduction : the importance of method in the study of the ‘Political Internet’. In Analyzing social media data and web networks (1-21). Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137276773_1

In this introduction, we outline our understanding of the ‘political Internet’ and present the methodologically focused approach that we take to the topic in this volume. We then discuss the growing social and political relevance of the Internet and... Read More about Introduction : the importance of method in the study of the ‘Political Internet’.

The Australian public and politics on-line: Reinforcing or reinventing representation? (2008)
Journal Article
Gibson, R., Lusoli, W., & Ward, S. (2008). The Australian public and politics on-line: Reinforcing or reinventing representation?. Australian Journal of Political Science, 43(1), 111-131. https://doi.org/10.1080/10361140701842607

Fears for the health of representative politics in advanced industrial
democracies have gained prominence in recent years with observers pointing
to a growing body of evidence that citizens are disengaging from formal
politics. One of the solution... Read More about The Australian public and politics on-line: Reinforcing or reinventing representation?.

UK politics and the internet: the first decade (2006)
Journal Article
Ward, S., & Vedel, T. (2006). UK politics and the internet: the first decade. Parliamentary Affairs, 59(2), 226-235. https://doi.org/10.1093/pa/gsl005

WHEN the tenth anniversary of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) was celebrated in 2004, visionaries and sceptics alike turned to reflect on what has been and what will be the reality and impact of the Internet in everyday life.1 Since the early beg... Read More about UK politics and the internet: the first decade.

Electronic democracy: mobilisation, organisation and participation via new ICTs (2004)
Book
Ward, S., Römmele, A., & Gibson, R. (2004). Electronic democracy: mobilisation, organisation and participation via new ICTs. Routledge Taylor & Francis

Political parties and the internet: net gain? (2003)
Book
Ward, S., Gibson, R., & Nixon, P. (2003). Political parties and the internet: net gain?. Routledge Taylor & Francis