JANUARY 2027 CALL
The New Negative Communication: Polarization, Networks, and Artificial Intelligence
Guest Editor: Ismael Crespo Martínez, University of Murcia, Spain
Introduction
Submissions are invited for research articles addressing negative communication in contemporary contexts from theoretical, empirical, or applied perspectives. Articles may be submitted in English, Portuguese, or Spanish.
Proposal Submission: Prospective authors should send a 200-word abstract, including the title and author information, to icrespo@um.es by June 30, 2026. Full articles must be submitted via the journal's OJS system by January 30, 2027.
The special issue is structured around the following thematic axes:
- Foundations and Redefinition of Negative Communication: Conceptual review of negative communication in hybrid environments. Evolution of negative campaigning toward affective polarization. Negativity, political disaffection, and institutional trust. Effects on turnout and electoral behavior.
- Emotional and Psychological Dimensions: Political emotions (fear, anger, resentment) in negative messaging. Cognitive biases and the reception of political attacks. Misperceptions of the adversary and the construction of the "enemy." Political hostility and affective polarization.
- Negative Communication on Social Networks: Platform architecture and the amplification of negativity. Virality of negative content and engagement logic. Memes, humor, and irony as forms of political attack. Digital communities, echo chambers, and discursive radicalization.
- Disinformation and Negative Narratives: Fake news and political attack campaigns. Conspiracy narratives and the delegitimization of the opponent. Digital propaganda strategies. Coordinated attacks and information warfare on social media.
- Artificial Intelligence and New Forms of Negativity: Generative AI and the automation of negative messaging. Deepfakes and political manipulation. Negative microtargeting and algorithmic segmentation. Automated detection and measurement of negativity.
- Strategy, Practice, and Professionalization: Strategic use of negativity in electoral campaigns. Negativity as a tool for mobilization or differentiation. Crisis management and attack communication. Political consultancy and the design of negative campaigns.
- Democratic Impact, Regulation, and Depolarization: Effects of negativity on the quality of public debate. Negativity and democratic erosion. Regulation of political communication and disinformation. Strategies and interventions for depolarization.
- Methods and Measurement: Measuring negative communication in surveys. Content analysis and computational techniques. Big data and political discourse analysis. Experiments on the effects of negative messaging.
Submission Guidelines
- Article Specifications
- Length: Between 6,000 and 7,000 words.
- Languages: Spanish, English, or Portuguese (at least one article in the issue must be in a language other than Spanish).
- Originality: Manuscripts must be original, unpublished, and not under evaluation by any other publication.
- Format: Must include title, abstract, and keywords in both the original language and English. References must follow APA 7th Edition and include at least 20 high-quality academic sources.
- Recommendation: Authors are encouraged to reference articles previously published in Más Poder Local (Archive: https://www.maspoderlocal.com/index.php/mpl/issue/archive).
- Submission Process
- Articles must be submitted through the OJS platform (https://www.maspoderlocal.com/) by January 30, 2027.
- Two versions of the manuscript are required:
- A full version including author(s) personal and biographical data.
- An anonymized version, ensuring no references allow for author identification.
- Evaluation
Manuscripts will undergo a rigorous double-blind peer review process to ensure quality and indexing standards. For more information, please consult the submission guidelines: https://www.maspoderlocal.com/index.php/mpl/about/submissions.
- Publication
Publication Date: July 2027.