par Paulis, Emilien
Référence General Online Conference (GOR) (15-17/03/2017: Berlin)
Publication Non publié, 2017-03-16
Communication à un colloque
Résumé : The mobilizing effects of political discussion networks have attracted a growing attention in political science, as many studies stressed the role that discussion partners can play on political participation. Based on data collected via an online survey among a sample quota of 2,800 Belgian citizens, the analysis conducted in this paper relies on political discussion networks characteristics (structure and composition) to explain the citizens’ probability to take part both in online and offline political activities. While traditional determinants are globally confirmed, our results demonstrate a major effect of network size (absolute number of political discussion partners), but also an effect of network participation (number of political discussion partners who are politically active citizens). Our results support also that disagreement in political discussion network can have both positive and negative leverage on the probability of political participation. All things being equal, political disagreement may spur political participation. Nonetheless, if the disagreement rises as long as the size of the network grows, this may imply the opposite relation and a demobilizing effect. The potential impact of social homophily and network political attitudes needs further investigations.