The Federal Chancellery is currently developing a "Dashboard Political Affairs" designed to provide federal employees with efficient access to information on the status of ongoing federal affairs. The dashboard draws information from various existing databases. In order to structure and classify the available information, a finely detailed process structure differentiated by type of affair is required.
Dissertation Project
The advent of digital democracy and social media has shifted the balance of power in political agenda-setting, giving rise to a new online elite of Social Media Influencers (SMIs) capable of shaping public discussions and agendas. For instance, German influencer Diana zur Löwen has used her platform to promote mental health awareness, influence public attitudes, and even impact the German coalition agreement. Italian fashion influencer Chiara Ferragni advocates for social causes such as raising funds for a new hospital wing during the COVID-19 pandemic, while Swiss influencer Anja Zeidler mobilized her 300,000 followers against the MERCOSUR free-trade agreement in 2019, prioritizing environmental concerns in the political agenda. However, it remains unclear whether SMIs can consistently leverage their significant follower numbers to set public debate topics beyond their usual areas of expertise. Thus, this research project aims to explore the role SMIs in the political agenda-setting process and their influence on traditional political elites within digital democracies.Specifically, I seek to examine the extent and quality of political content produced by SMIs, assess the effectiveness of their communication strategies, and determine the degree to which they shape traditional political elites' agendas. The objectives include analyzing the scope and nature of SMIs' political engagement on two major social-media platforms – Instagram and YouTube –, an evaluation of their communication strategies' effectiveness in resonating with online audiences as well as an investigation of SMIs’ influence on traditional political elites’ agendas and discourse. To achieve these objectives, the comprehensive data collection will focus on English and German speaking SMIs from Europe and North America between 2019 and 2023. I will employ a combination of supervised classification techniques, sentiment analysis, and advanced correlational methods to explore the relationships between SMIs, political content, audience engagement, and traditional political agendas. Additionally, online experiments will be conducted to assess SMIs’ ability to alter the issue priorities of their online audiences.This project holds significant academic, methodological, and practical implications for the fields of political science, political communication, and digital democracy. It contributes to a more profound understanding of political agenda setting in the digital age and offers valuable insights into the nature and effectiveness of political content shared by SMIs. Methodologically, the project will develop and employ innovative computational methods to analyze online political content, expanding the methodological toolkit in political science and providing broader applicability across various areas of the discipline.On a practical level, the findings will inform political actors, advocacy groups, and communication professionals on the most effective strategies for engaging with online audiences and shaping political discourse. By identifying factors contributing to the success or failure of political content on social media, this research can guide the development of targeted communication strategies for political engagement and advocacy.
The UZH faculties have taken a variety of measures to reduce flight-related greenhouse gas emissions. These range from quotas, incentive taxes and monitoring to compensation solutions. The evaluation project aims to assess the various measures. Different dimensions are assessed, such as the level of information on the measures, their acceptance, and their effects on the travel behavior and climate awareness of UZH members. The evaluation is based on guided interviews with those responsible for the measures and on the development of impact models for the different measures. Furthermore, the evaluation project is based on an analysis of existing data on the travel behavior of UZH members and on a standardized online survey of UZH members. Finally, the experiences with the implementation of the measures are collected in supplementary interviews. Based on the findings, the project formulates recommendations for the attention of decision makers in the faculties and the UZH. However, the significance of this project extends beyond UZH. It can serve as a model for other educational institutions and organizations pursuing similar emission reduction goals. Finally, the findings obtained in this evaluation project contribute to the scientific debate on the question of the acceptance and effectiveness of corresponding measures.