ABSTRACT
Mediatization has been described as a meta-process on par with other large-scale social changes such as globalization and individualization (Krotz, 2007, 2009). As such, mediatization represents a long-term trend that affects all parts of society, including politics (Mazzoleni, 2008a), everyday life and identity formation (Hjarvard, 2009), and religion (Hoover, 2009). It is only recently, however, that scholars have sought to develop a deeper conceptual understanding of mediatization and the related concept of mediation. Both concepts are still casually invoked more than they are properly defined or employed analytically in programmatic research. This is unfortunate, not least since the concept of mediatization has the potential to integrate different strands of political communication theory and research and offers a framework for comparative research.
