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Although politics and political communication have long been closely intertwined, this relationship has gained prominence recently due to changes in election campaigns, news coverage, institutional and governmental public communication, the rise of digital platforms and use of AI in political communication. Despite this, political communication variables remain underexplored within mainstream political science.

This track seeks to address the growing relevance of analyses situated at the intersection of politics and communication. It welcomes contributions concerned with the following topics, among others:

• Epistemological debates, literature reviews, and meta-analyses in political communication;
• Ethical challenges in political communication research;
• Communication strategies of political actors and institutions;
• Media framing of political issues and agendas;
• Populism, democratic crises, and political communication;
• Media capture, media instrumentalization and freedom of speech;
• Political communication and democratic risks;
• Political storytelling;
• Disinformation, extremism, and harmful speech across media environments;
• Platforms and social media as spaces for political empowerment and civic engagement;
• The role of platforms and AI in political communication;
• Autocratization and the media in the digital age;
• Strategic repertoires employed by political actors, parties, and interest groups to influence public opinion.

Contributions from different disciplinary traditions and methodological approaches are encouraged.