ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at new online political communication opportunities in countries experiencing democratization processes. It addresses both the role of independent online news media outlets and blogs in environments facing constraints to freedom, and the use of the Internet in citizens’ participation and political change. The Portuguese-speaking African countries offer particularly interesting case studies when the objective is to examine the political influence of the Internet. The Internet has influenced communicative practices in general and political communication in particular, by adding different dimensions to power discourses and facilitating collective action, for instance. The Internet has enabled alternative power dynamics, which in these cases have more or less conflicted and challenged the status quo. These actors, movements, and publications emerged and flourished in their national contexts due to the Internet. The Internet offers the potential for decentralized information production and distribution, allowing more ideas and opinions to circulate, which in itself is a valuable tool in democracy.
