[Commlist] Call for papers: Visual Political Communication in the Nordic Region: Strategies, Narratives, and Challenges in a Digital Age

Call for papers: Visual Political Communication in the Nordic Region: 
Strategies, Narratives, and Challenges in a Digital Age

Franziska Marquart (University of Copenhagen) and Xénia Farkas (DIGSUM, 
Umeå Univesity) invite scholars from the fields of media, communication, 
political science, and related disciplines to submit extended abstracts 
for a special issue of Nordicom Review. This issue will explore the 
evolving landscape of visual political communication in the Nordic 
countries, focusing on comparative aspects, content, and effects of 
visual politics in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden.

Editors:

Franziska Marquart (University of Copenhagen)

Xénia Farkas  (DIGSUM, Umeå University)

Contact:

Franziska Marquart: (fm /at/ hum.ku.dk) <mailto:(fm /at/ hum.ku.dk)>

Xénia Farkas: (xenia.farkas /at/ umu.se) <mailto:(xenia.farkas /at/ umu.se)>

Important dates:

Deadline for extended abstracts: 15 September 2025

Invitation to submit full paper: 3 October 2025

Full paper submission: 9 February 2026

Peer review processing: Spring 2026

Expected publication (Open Access): Early 2027

Background and aim

Visuals have always been central to political communication, shaping how 
political actors convey messages and how audiences interpret political 
realities (e.g., Graber, 1988; Lanzetta et al., 1985; Masters et al., 
1986). Research has long recognised the unique cognitive and emotional 
power of visual information, acknowledging that images are processed and 
remembered more efficiently than verbal communication (e.g., Graber, 
1996) and can influence political attitudes and behaviours (Grabe & 
Bucy, 2009). Despite early recognition of its importance, visual 
political communication has only gained sustained scholarly attention in 
recent decades (Farkas, 2023; Schill, 2012).

In addition, the rise of digital media platforms has fundamentally 
transformed the visual dimension of political discourse (Lilleker, 2019; 
Marquart, 2023). Political narratives are increasingly constructed and 
contested through images, memes, videos, and data visualizations. These 
developments call for research that do not only consider the general 
content, strategies, and effects of visual political communication, but 
also account for their broader societal embeddedness and implications 
for trust, engagement, and democratic resilience.

In the Nordic context, where political systems are marked by high levels 
of institutional trust, transparency, and democratic participation, 
visual political communication takes on distinctive characteristics. 
While the region is often associated with social cohesion and stable 
governance, it is not immune to political polarisation, populist 
rhetoric, and digital disinformation. Recent years have seen 
intensifying debates on immigration, identity, and climate change – all 
heavily mediated through visual content. At the same time, the 
widespread use of social media has enabled new forms of political 
expression by citizens, activists, and alternative media actors.

This special issue invites contributions that explore how visual 
political communication unfolds across the Nordic countries in this 
evolving digital landscape, assessing the production, spread, and impact 
of visual content across a range of contexts – from electoral campaigns 
and protest movements to policy advocacy and state communication. We are 
particularly interested in how visual strategies interact with core 
democratic values in the region, such as openness, inclusivity, and 
(political and media) trust. We welcome empirical studies, theoretical 
contributions, and methodological innovations that engage with visual 
political communication from diverse perspectives. Comparative and 
longitudinal designs are especially encouraged, as they can illuminate 
both shared trends and country-specific dynamics shaped by cultural, 
regulatory, and technological factors.

Ultimately, the aim is to deepen our understanding of how visuals 
contribute to the transformation of political communication in the 
Nordic region and what this means for democracy in a digital age.

Submissions may address, but are not limited to, the following themes:

Visual strategies in political campaigning: The use of imagery, video, 
and branding by parties, candidates, and campaign teams during elections 
and referenda

Visual activism and protest culture: How activists, movements, and civil 
society actors use visual media to mobilise, resist, and advocate for change

Memes, infographics, and short-form videos: Emerging visual formats on 
platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, and X, and their role in shaping 
political discourse

Influencers as political communicators: Exploring how digital 
influencers shape political discourse through visual content, for 
example, through agenda-setting, issue advocacy, or political 
endorsements, particularly in addressing youth audiences

Personalisation and performance: The visual representation of political 
leaders, including aesthetics of authenticity, relatability, trust, and 
authority

Disinformation and visual manipulation: The role of images and videos in 
spreading misleading or false political content, including deepfakes and 
edited footage

Algorithmic visibility: How platform logics and recommender systems 
shape the prominence and reach of political visuals

Public service and institutional communication: Visual strategies 
employed by state institutions and public broadcasters to engage 
citizens and maintain trust

Crisis communication: Studying the visual strategies employed during 
political conflicts, economic, environmental, or health crises, and 
their effectiveness in managing public perception and behaviour

Ethics and accountability: Addressing ethical considerations in the 
creation and dissemination of political visuals, including issues of 
consent, manipulation, and the responsibilities of content creators

We welcome submissions employing a wide range of theoretical frameworks 
and methodological approaches, including (but not limited to) 
qualitative visual analysis, content analysis, computational methods, 
discourse analysis, and mixed-method designs. Interdisciplinary 
perspectives from political science, media and communication studies, 
sociology, visual culture, and digital humanities are particularly 
encouraged.

Procedure

Please send an extended abstract of no more than 750 words to both 
(fm /at/ hum.ku.dk) <mailto:(fm /at/ hum.ku.dk)> and (xenia.farkas /at/ umu.se) 
<mailto:(xenia.farkas /at/ umu.se)> by 15 September 2025. The abstract should 
outline the main theme and approach of the intended paper and mention 
how it fits with the overall theme of the special issue.

Authors invited to submit a full manuscript (6,000–8,000 words, excl. 
references) will be notified by e-mail when all abstracts are assessed 
by the editors. Also, authors who are invited to submit a full paper 
will be invited to an online seminar where the rationale for the special 
issue and the steps that follow will be discussed in more detail. All 
submissions should be original works and must not be under consideration 
by other publishers.

After the initial submission and review process, manuscripts that are 
accepted for publication must adhere to our guidelines upon final 
manuscript delivery. You may choose to use our templates to assist you 
in correctly formatting your manuscript.

Read the full instructions for authors and download a manuscript 
template 
<https://www.nordicom.gu.se/en/publications/publish-with-nordicom/instructions-authors>

References

Farkas, X. (2023). Visual political communication research: A literature 
review from 2012 to 2022. Journal of Visual Political Communication, 
10(2), 95–126. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1386/jvpc_00027_1 
<https://doi.org/https:/doi.org/10.1386/jvpc_00027_1>

Grabe, M. E., & Bucy, E. P. (2009). Image bite politics: News and the 
visual framing of elections. Oxford University Press. 
https://www.oxfordscholarship.com/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195372076.001.0001/acprof-9780195372076 
<https://www.oxfordscholarship.com/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195372076.001.0001/acprof-9780195372076>

Graber, D. A. (1988). Processing the news: How people tame the 
information tide (2nd ed). Longman.

Graber, D. A. (1996). Say it with pictures. The Annals of the American 
Academy of Political and Social Science, 546, 85–96. 
https://www.jstor.org/stable/1048172 <https://www.jstor.org/stable/1048172>

Lanzetta, J. T., Sullivan, D. G., Masters, R. D., & McHugo, G. J. 
(1985). Emotional and cognitive responses to televised images of 
political leaders. In S. Kraus, & R. E. Perloff (Eds.), Mass media and 
political thought. Sage.

Lilleker, D. G. (2019). The power of visual political communication: 
Pictorial politics through the lens of communication psychology. In A. 
Veneti, D.

Jackson, & D. G. Lilleker (Eds.), Visual political communication (pp. 
37–51). Springer.

Marquart, F. (2023). Video killed the Instagram star: The future of 
political communication is audio-visual. Journal of Visual Political 
Communication, 10(1), 49–57. https://doi.org/10.1386/jvpc_00024_1 
<https://doi.org/10.1386/jvpc_00024_1>

Masters, R., Sullivan, D., Lanzetta, J., Mchugo, G., & Englis, B. 
(1986). The facial displays of leaders: Toward an ethology of human 
politics. Journal of Social and Biological Systems, 9(4), 319–343. 
https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-1750(86)90190-9 
<https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-1750(86)90190-9>

Schill, D. (2012). The visual image and the political image: A review of 
visual communication research in the field of political communication. 
Review of Communication, 12(2), 118–142. 
https://doi.org/10.1080/15358593.2011.653504 
<https://doi.org/10.1080/15358593.2011.653504>

About the publisher

Nordicom is a centre for Nordic media research at the University of 
Gothenburg, supported by the Nordic Council of Ministers. Nordicom 
publishes all works under a Creative Commons 
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) 
licence, which allows for non-commercial, non-derivative types 
of reuse and sharing with proper attribution. All works are published 
Open Access and are available to read free of charge and without 
requirement for registration. There are no article processing charges 
(APC), and authors retain copyright.

//

/Nordicom Review/ is an international peer reviewed journal devoted to 
new Nordic media and communication research. In 2023, /Nordicom Review 
/recorded a Journal Impact Factor of 2.0, a CiteScore of 2.8, and an 
H-Index of 23.

Read more about Nordicom Review 
<https://www.nordicom.gu.se/en/publications/nordicom-review>

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<https://www.nordicom.gu.se/en/publications/publishing-with-nordicom/editorial-policies> 


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Read the call for papers here: 
https://www.nordicom.gu.se/en/latest/news/call-papers-visual-political-communication-nordic-region-strategies-narratives-and 



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