Mapping the research trends on political communication in Asia: A bibliometric analysis using R package and VOS
| Published date | 01 June 2024 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/20578911231172885 |
| Author | J Saravanan,Vineeth Thomas,Aviini Ashikho |
| Date | 01 June 2024 |
Mapping the research trends on
political communication in Asia:
A bibliometric analysis using
R package and VOS
J Saravanan
VIT Business School, VIT Bhopal University, India
Vineeth Thomas
Department of Liberal Arts, SRM University, India
Aviini Ashikho
Symbiosis Centre for Media and Communication (SCMC),
Symbiosis International (Deemed University) (SIU), India
Abstract
Political communication refers to developing and exchanging political ideas and opinions among
the general public, elected officials, political parties and affiliated organisations like the media.
Recent years have seen an enormous amount of literature in the area of political communication
owing to the growing interest of academics in the subject. Using the R package bibliometrix and
the Visualisation of Similarities viewer programme, this study aims to enhance graphical mapping of
the bibliographic data for political communication publications in select countries of Asia. The
results show that, especially since 2016, scholars have been paying more and more attention to
the study of political communication in the age of fake news, hyperpolarization, etc. They also
show that research publications on the topics of communication, China, Taiwan, India, the USA,
social media, articles, politics, the internet, decision-making, democracy, governance and elections
are gaining momentum in recent years. Additionally, the findings show that the top three nations
for publishing articles on political communication are the USA, China and Russia. The findings also
reveal that even scholars from non-democratic or less democratic countries have made substantial
attempts to improve political communication studies, despite the fact that political communication
is one of the most crucial components in democratic countries.
Corresponding author:
Aviini Ashikho, Symbiosis Centre for Media and Communication (SCMC), Symbiosis International (Deemed University)
(SIU), Pune, Maharashtra, India.
Email: avuniady@gmail.com
Original Research Article
Asian Journal of Comparative Politics
2024, Vol. 9(2) 254–273
© The Author(s) 2023
Article reuse guidelines:
sagepub.com/journals-permissions
DOI: 10.1177/20578911231172885
journals.sagepub.com/home/acp
Keywords
Asia, bibliometric analysis, political communication, R package, visualisation of similarities
Introduction
With the emergence and spread of liberal democracy, people’s participation and rational choice
became vital elements for the successful functioning of any democratic regime. This also subse-
quently led to the emergence of the practice of politics and decision-making within and along
with the public as per the demands of an informed and knowledgeable electorate. This can only
be possible if the political awareness, consciousness and objectives of those who seek the vote
and those who cast the vote are freely exchanged with each other. It is at this juncture that political
communication enters as a concept and practice. Slowly but steadily the concept and practice of
political communications have entered the centre stage of politics. It seems no longer possible to
practise and study politics in modern democracies by ignoring the contributions of mass media.
As Walter Lippmann stated, ‘the mass media are the sources of the pictures in our heads’
(Lippmann, 2017). Political communication designs and delivers the perceptions to the public
about politicians through news coverage, editorials and other forms of media discussions.
Indeed, political communication has the potential to draw the map of the political world by signi fi-
cantly influencing the thought processes and perception of the viewers and audience. Political com-
munication helps the public to realise the specific objectives and goals of politicians and other
political actors. It also acts as a bridge between the non-political actors such as voters, academicians
and media columnists and the political actors (Denton and Woodward, 1990).
Political communication is also multi-dimensional in nature. It is not just the verbal and
written communications and statements made in the context of politics. It also includes other
visual means of significance including logo design, hairstyles, costumes and all of the other ele-
ments of communication that can generate and construct a political identity, perception, idea or
image (McNair, 2017). It is important to note that in any interpersonal political discussion hap-
pening in a public gathering, party journalists’interactions with public figures can also acquire
the character of political communication when they significantly influence the political process
(McNair, 2017).
In an ideal type of democracy, communication media perform multiple functions that strengthen
the credentials and performance of the democracy. Through surveillance and monitoring functions,
mass media inform citizens about the happenings and developments in the political sphere. The
media also educate the public about the meaning and significance of facts by providing objective
and professionally detached analyses of the issues being discussed. Print, visual and audio media
can also create a platform for the free flow and aggregation of public political opinion. This will
be accompanied by the space for dissent without which the democratic consensus cannot
happen. Publicity for political and governmental decisions and actions can also be provided by
the active involvement of the media. All this adds up to consideration of the media as the fourth
pillar of democracy.
With advancements in information, communication and technology, political communication
has also witnessed an increase in sophistication and upgrades in its concepts and practice. In
recent years, there have been several key developments in this field. One of the most significant
has been the rise of social media (McNair, 2017). Social media platforms have become increasingly
Saravanan et al.255
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