Digital Public Spheres, Collective Identity, and Democratic Participation: A Comparative Analysis of Youth Political Engagement in South Korea and Germany
Abstract
The rapid expansion of digital communication technologies has transformed contemporary democratic participation, public discourse, and collective identity formation across diverse political and cultural environments. This article investigates the relationship between digital public spheres, youth political engagement, and institutional trust through a comparative analysis of South Korea and Germany. While both countries possess advanced digital infrastructures and highly educated populations, they demonstrate substantially different trajectories of civic participation, political communication, and digitally mediated democratic mobilization. Drawing on comparative institutional analysis, digital discourse studies, and interdisciplinary social theory, this study examines how technological ecosystems interact with historical political cultures, media structures, and governance frameworks to shape youth engagement in democratic processes.
The findings demonstrate that digital participation is not merely a technological phenomenon but is deeply embedded within socio-cultural traditions, institutional legitimacy, and collective memory. In South Korea, digitally networked activism reflects historically rooted mobilization cultures associated with democratization movements and participatory citizenship. In Germany, digital participation is more strongly mediated through institutional trust, regulatory frameworks, and deliberative democratic norms. Comparative evidence further indicates that algorithmic communication environments intensify political polarization, transform civic identities, and reshape public legitimacy in both contexts, although through distinct institutional mechanisms.
This article contributes to social sciences and humanities scholarship by integrating comparative political sociology, digital media studies, and democratic theory to explain how digital infrastructures influence civic participation and institutional transformation. The study further proposes a conceptual framework linking digital communication, identity construction, institutional mediation, and democratic outcomes within contemporary societies.
