Introduction [to Fandom Democracy? Celebrity Leaders and New Forms of Citizens’ Engagement]

The book poses a provocative question: are our contemporary democracies transforming themselves into ‘fan-democracies’? It has been claimed that political leaders are currently represented as celebrities. Chapter 1 intends to highlight the primary aims of the book: to explore how citizens are affected by leaders’ celebrity strategies in the era of digital media and to discuss whether fandom may be seen as an alternative way of experiencing politics. The chapter describes the methods and data employed in the research—including survey research and the analysis of social media contents. Finally, the chapter illustrates the outline of the book.