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Normalizing Government Social Media Communication: A Swedish Case Analysis
University of Gothenburg, Sweden.ORCID iD: 0000-0002-5786-1106
Södertörn University, School of Social Sciences, Political Science.ORCID iD: 0000-0003-3804-5020
2025 (English)In: Media and Communication, E-ISSN 2183-2439, Vol. 13, article id 10457Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Social media is transforming how political power is exercised through communication, functioning both as a critical resource and as a catalyst for institutional adaptation in executive government. This article examines how social media is integrated into government communication, distinguishing between two dimensions: structure and process. Drawing on a literature review and a case study of Sweden—based on interviews with government press secretaries/media advisers and analysis of official documents—we develop a theoretical logic in which resources act as a causal mechanism driving the normalization of social media. We conceptualize this process as operating through two pathways: adaptation to new communicative requirements and the combination of different media, here termed strategic complementarity. The findings show that social media has become an embedded element of government communication, steadily reshaping routines, professional roles, and the balance between traditional and digital channels. This study contributes to understanding how governments manage hybrid media environments and highlights the underexplored role of social media as a potential driver of power redistribution.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Cogitatio Press, 2025. Vol. 13, article id 10457
Keywords [en]
digitalization, government communication, hybrid media, institutional adaptation, national governance, normalization of social media, power resource, press secretaries, strategic complementarity, Sweden
National Category
Media and Communication Studies Political Science
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:sh:diva-58149DOI: 10.17645/mac.10457ISI: 001660518600010Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-105024888587OAI: oai:DiVA.org:sh-58149DiVA, id: diva2:1999173
Part of project
Symbiotic leader-media relations? Exploring interaction between prime ministers and the media in Finland, Lithuania, Poland and Sweden, The Foundation for Baltic and East European StudiesAvailable from: 2025-09-18 Created: 2025-09-18 Last updated: 2026-01-27Bibliographically approved

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Johansson, Karl Magnus

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CiteExportLink to record
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Cite
Citation style
  • apa
  • ieee
  • modern-language-association-8th-edition
  • vancouver
  • harvard-anglia-ruskin-university
  • apa-old-doi-prefix.csl
  • sodertorns-hogskola-harvard.csl
  • sodertorns-hogskola-oxford.csl
  • Other style
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Language
  • de-DE
  • en-GB
  • en-US
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  • nn-NO
  • nn-NB
  • sv-SE
  • Other locale
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Output format
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