Dr. Wiebke Drews

Welcome! 

I am currently affiliated with the University of the German Bundeswehr in Munich, where I am undertaking my post-doctoral research. Since June 2024, I have been on maternity/parental leave. 

At the Bundeswehr University, my primary responsibility is the "Elections" use case for the research project SPARTA. Within this project, I focus on monitoring and nowcasting electoral campaigns on platforms like Twitter/X, TikTok, YouTube, Facebook and Instagram. My research delves deep into topics such as negative campaigning, issue competition, and the evolution and radicalization of political discourses.

In addition to my work with SPARTA, I serve as a member of the Steering Committee of the ECPR Standing Group on Internet & Politics. I have also served as the co-director of euandi2021, a Voting Advice Apllication (VAA) for the 2021 German federal election, an initiative powered by the European University Institute (EUI).

I earned my PhD from the EUI in November 2020. My doctoral thesis is titled "Digital Politics Across Contexts, Social Media, Parties and Citizens: Technological Opportunities and Challenges in Modern Democracies". 

My research interests lie at the intersection of politics and digital technology. I am keenly interested in understanding how new Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) influence representative democracy. This includes their role in transforming political participation, expressions, and the dynamic relationship between voters and political parties. Furthermore, I am passionate about social media analytics, text-as-data and natural language processing, and I have a profound love for teaching.

I have published in Frontiers, Political Research Exchange, PLoS ONE and German Politics. 

I am always happy to connect and welcome messages about potential collaborations, exchange of expertise, or any shared interests.