Mapping the Transformation of Government Political Communication on Global Social Media: A Bibliometric and Thematic Analysis

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.31000/nyimak.v10i2.15566

Abstract

The growing centrality of social media in government–citizen interaction has reshaped the scholarly landscape of government political communication, yet its geographical, conceptual, and thematic development remains fragmented across political contexts, platforms, and research traditions. This study maps the global development of research on government political communication through social media by examining geographical contributions, dominant concepts, influential publications, conceptual structures, and thematic evolution. Its novelty lies in integrating cross-country, conceptual, citation-based, and temporal evidence within a single framework to clarify the development of government political communication at the intersection of institutional communication. A systematic bibliometric review was conducted using 875 English-language journal articles indexed in Scopus for the 1999–2024 period, with the identification and filtering process reported with reference to PRISMA 2020. Bibliometric performance analysis and science-mapping techniques were used to examine geographical distribution, keyword patterns, citation influence, conceptual structure, and thematic evolution. The findings reveal a geographically concentrated research landscape dominated by Western contexts and a conceptual structure centered on social media and political communication, with personalization, populism, platform characteristics, and political participation emerging as prominent themes. The thematic trajectory further indicates a transition from public communication and representation toward increasingly complex concerns involving digital communication, disinformation, platform governance, algorithms, and digital democracy. The study contributes to communication scholarship by showing that government political communication is not an isolated domain; it is embedded within a communication ecosystem in which institutional, public, electoral, and political communication intersect. This integrated perspective provides a conceptual basis for more comparative and theoretically differentiated research, particularly across underrepresented Global South contexts.

Keywords: Government political communication, social media, bibliometric analysis, thematic mapping.

 

ABSTRAK

Meningkatnya sentralitas media sosial dalam interaksi pemerintah warga telah mengubah lanskap kajian komunikasi politik pemerintah, tetapi perkembangan geografis, konseptual, dan tematik bidang ini masih terfragmentasi dalam berbagai konteks politik, platform, dan tradisi penelitian. Penelitian ini memetakan perkembangan global kajian komunikasi politik pemerintah melalui media sosial dengan menganalisis kontribusi geografis, konsep dominan, publikasi berpengaruh, struktur konseptual, dan evolusi tematik. Kebaruan penelitian terletak pada integrasi bukti lintas negara, konseptual, berbasis sitasi, dan temporal dalam satu kerangka analisis untuk memperjelas perkembangan komunikasi politik pemerintah pada persinggungan antara komunikasi institusional. Penelitian menggunakan systematic bibliometric review terhadap 875 artikel jurnal berbahasa Inggris yang terindeks Scopus pada periode 1999–2024, dengan proses identifikasi dan penyaringan dilaporkan mengacu pada PRISMA 2020. Analisis kinerja bibliometrik dan teknik science mapping digunakan untuk mengidentifikasi distribusi geografis, pola kata kunci, pengaruh sitasi, struktur konseptual, dan evolusi tematik. Temuan menunjukkan bahwa lanskap penelitian masih terkonsentrasi pada konteks negara-negara Barat, dengan struktur konseptual yang berpusat pada media sosial dan komunikasi politik serta tema menonjol berupa personalisasi, populisme, karakteristik platform, dan partisipasi politik. Evolusi tematik menunjukkan pergeseran dari komunikasi publik dan representasi menuju isu yang semakin kompleks, termasuk komunikasi digital, disinformasi, tata kelola platform, algoritma, dan demokrasi digital. ini berkontribusi pada studi komunikasi dengan menunjukkan bahwa komunikasi politik pemerintah bukan merupakan bidang yang sepenuhnya terpisah, melainkan semakin tertanam dalam ekosistem komunikasi berbasis platform tempat komunikasi institusional, publik, elektoral, dan komunikasi politik yang lebih luas saling beririsan. Perspektif integratif ini menyediakan dasar konseptual bagi penelitian komparatif yang lebih terdiferensiasi secara teoretis, terutama dalam konteks Global South yang masih kurang terwakili.

Kata Kunci: Komunikasi politik pemerintah, media sosial, analisis bibliometrik, pemetaan tematik.

Author Biographies

  • Muh. Awalil Resky Sutanto, Department of Government Affairs and Administration, Jusuf Kalla School of Government, Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta, Bantul City, Indonesia.
    Department of Government Affairs and Administration, Jusuf Kalla School of Government
  • Achmad Nurmandi, Department of Government Affairs and Administration, Jusuf Kalla School of Government, Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta, Bantul City, Indonesia.
    Department of Government Affairs and Administration, Jusuf Kalla School of Government
  • Herman Lawelai, Department of Government Studies, Universitas Muhammadiyah Buton, Baubau City, Indonesia.
    Department of Government Studies
  • Muhammad Ikbal, Department of Public Administration, Faculty of Social Science and Political Science, Universitas Muhammadiyah Sidenreng Rappang, Indonesia.
    Department of Public Administration, Faculty of Social Science and Political Science
  • Hazel Jovita, Department of Political Science, Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology, Philippines.
    Department of Political Science

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09/04/2026

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Vol. 10 No. 2 (2026): Nyimak: Journal of Communication

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