Professor Ana Ines Langer

  • Professor of Political Communication (Political & International Studies)

telephone: 01413303055
email: Ana.Langer@glasgow.ac.uk

R1215 Level 12, Politics, Adam Smith Building, Glasgow G12 8RT

Import to contacts

ORCID iDhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-5331-544X

Biography

 Office Hours: Thursdays 14.00-15.00, or by email appointment 

I joined the subject of Politics at Glasgow in September 2006 from the London School of Economics (LSE), where I completed my PhD in Political Communication. My research focuses on political communication: how politics is mediated and how this affects the conduct and nature of the democratic process. Most of my work has focused on the UK and Scotland but I have also done comparative work about countries including Argentina, Germany and China.

I have published articles in European Journal of Communication, International Journal Press/Politics, Parliamentary Affairs, Policy Studies, Political Studies, and West European Politics. My book, 'The Personalisation of Politics in the UK. Mediated Leadership from Attlee to Cameron' (Manchester University Press), was the first in-depth historical study of the phenomenon in the UK.

During the early years of my career, I focused on the personalisation of politics, especially its media dimensions. I still work on the topic but, in the last few years, I have become keenly interested in understanding how the hybrid media environment is affecting ‘classic functions’ of political communication and its impact on democracy. I have recently published work about the Scottish independence referendum campaigns and have work in progress about non-party campaign organisations or ‘satellite’ campaigns.

Most of my current work focuses on analysing how media of different types can shape the policy process. This includes a recent paper about Windrush, published in the International Journal of Press/Politics, and a project (funded by NIHR & MRC) about the role of social media on shaping the Chinese government’s policy response during COVID. I have also started to explore how different platform affordances shape to what extent and how topics are politicised.

Finally, I am working with colleagues in the Glasgow University Media Group and stakeholders to develop a better understanding of the future of the media in Scotland and how it can better serve democracy.

In most of my recent projects I use a mixed methods approach, combining manual content analysis, ‘big data’ methodologies (including quantitative text analysis and network analysis) and qualitative interviewing. 

Research interests

 

  • The role of the media in the democratic process
  • Media and policy making
  • Personalisation of politics
  • Political campaigns, the role of different actors and how they use media

Research groups

Publications

List by: Type | Date

Jump to: 2025 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2014 | 2013 | 2011 | 2010 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005
Number of items: 18.

2025

Langer, Ana Ines ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5331-544X, Wang, Hua ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6046-2325 and Duckett, Jane ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5401-5350 (2025) Social media and policy change: the Chinese government’s strategic policy responsiveness during the COVID-19 pandemic. Political Studies Review, (Accepted for Publication)

2023

Temple, Luke and Langer, Ana I. ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5331-544X (2023) Exploring the campaign space of non-party activism in the 2017 and 2019 UK general elections. Geoforum, 145, 103847. (doi: 10.1016/j.geoforum.2023.103847)

Vaughan, Michael, Gruber, Johannes B. and Langer, Ana Innes ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5331-544X (2023) The tension between connective action and platformisation: disconnected action in the GameStop short squeeze. New Media and Society, (doi: 10.1177/14614448231182617) (Early Online Publication)

2022

Happer, Catherine ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9711-8544, Schlesinger, Philip ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0078-9630, Langer, Ana Ines ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5331-544X, Mabweazara, Hayes ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0460-7814 and Hinde, Dominic ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6081-5672 (2022) Scotland’s Sustainable Media Future: Challenges and Opportunities: a Stakeholder Analysis. Project Report. Glasgow University Media Group and Centre for Cultural Policy Research.

2021

Langer, Ana Ines ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5331-544X and Gruber, Johannes B. (2021) Political agenda setting in the hybrid media system: why legacy media still matter a great deal. International Journal of Press/Politics, 26(2), pp. 313-340. (doi: 10.1177/1940161220925023)

2019

Langer, Ana Ines ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5331-544X, Comerford, Michael and McNulty, Des (2019) Online allies and tricky freelancers: understanding the differences in the role of social media in the campaigns for the Scottish Independence Referendum. Political Studies, 67(4), pp. 834-854. (doi: 10.1177/0032321718811252)

2018

Langer, Ana Ines ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5331-544X and Sagarzazu, Inaki ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8350-0454 (2018) Bring back the party: personalization, the media and coalition politics. West European Politics, 41(2), pp. 472-495. (doi: 10.1080/01402382.2017.1354528)

2017

Langer, Ana Ines ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5331-544X and Sagarzazu, Inaki ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8350-0454 (2017) Are all policy decisions equal? Explaining the variation in media coverage of the UK Budget. Policy Studies Journal, 45(2), pp. 337-358. (doi: 10.1111/psj.12119)

2014

Holtz-Bacha, Christina, Langer, Ana Ines ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5331-544X and Merkle, Susanne (2014) The personalisation of politics in comparative perspective: campaign coverage in Germany and the United Kingdom. European Journal of Communication, 29(2), pp. 153-170. (doi: 10.1177/0267323113516727)

2013

Duckett, J. ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5401-5350 and Langer, A.I. ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5331-544X (2013) Populism versus neo-liberalism: diversity and ideology in the Chinese media's reporting of health system reform. Modern China, 39(6), pp. 653-680. (doi: 10.1177/0097700413492602)

2011

Langer, A.I. ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5331-544X (2011) The Personalisation of Politics in the UK: Mediated Leadership from Attlee to Cameron. Manchester University Press: Manchester. ISBN 9780719081460

2010

Langer, A.I. ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5331-544X (2010) The politicization of private persona: exceptional leaders or the new rule? The case of the UK and the Blair effect. International Journal of Press/Politics, 15(1), pp. 60-76. (doi: 10.1177/1940161209351003)

2008

Langer, A.I. ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5331-544X (2008) Peter Mandelson. In: Kaid, L.L. and Holtz-Bacha, C. (eds.) Encyclopedia of Political Communication. Sage: London. ISBN 9781412917995

Langer, A.I. ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5331-544X (2008) The royal press commission. In: Kaid, L.L. and Holtz-Bacha, C. (eds.) Encyclopedia of Political Communication. Sage: London. ISBN 9781412917995

2007

Langer, A.I. (2007) A historical exploration of the personalisation of politics in the print media: the British prime ministers (1945-1999). Parliamentary Affairs, 60(3), pp. 371-387. (doi: 10.1093/pa/gsm028)

2006

Scammell, M. and Langer, A.I. (2006) Political advertising: why is it so boring? Media, Culture and Society, 28(5), p. 763. (doi: 10.1177/0163443706067025)

Langer, A.I. ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5331-544X (2006) Political advertising in the United Kingdom. In: Kaid, L.L. and Holtz-Bacha, C. (eds.) The Sage Handbook of Political Advertising. Sage: Thousand Oaks, C.A., pp. 65-82. ISBN 9781412917957

2005

Langer, A.I. (2005) Media consumption and public connection: toward a typology of the dispersed citizen. Communication Review, 8(2), pp. 237-257. (doi: 10.1080/10714420590953325)

This list was generated on Mon Jun 30 19:38:09 2025 BST.
Jump to: Articles | Books | Book Sections | Research Reports or Papers
Number of items: 18.

Articles

Langer, Ana Ines ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5331-544X, Wang, Hua ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6046-2325 and Duckett, Jane ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5401-5350 (2025) Social media and policy change: the Chinese government’s strategic policy responsiveness during the COVID-19 pandemic. Political Studies Review, (Accepted for Publication)

Temple, Luke and Langer, Ana I. ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5331-544X (2023) Exploring the campaign space of non-party activism in the 2017 and 2019 UK general elections. Geoforum, 145, 103847. (doi: 10.1016/j.geoforum.2023.103847)

Vaughan, Michael, Gruber, Johannes B. and Langer, Ana Innes ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5331-544X (2023) The tension between connective action and platformisation: disconnected action in the GameStop short squeeze. New Media and Society, (doi: 10.1177/14614448231182617) (Early Online Publication)

Langer, Ana Ines ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5331-544X and Gruber, Johannes B. (2021) Political agenda setting in the hybrid media system: why legacy media still matter a great deal. International Journal of Press/Politics, 26(2), pp. 313-340. (doi: 10.1177/1940161220925023)

Langer, Ana Ines ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5331-544X, Comerford, Michael and McNulty, Des (2019) Online allies and tricky freelancers: understanding the differences in the role of social media in the campaigns for the Scottish Independence Referendum. Political Studies, 67(4), pp. 834-854. (doi: 10.1177/0032321718811252)

Langer, Ana Ines ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5331-544X and Sagarzazu, Inaki ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8350-0454 (2018) Bring back the party: personalization, the media and coalition politics. West European Politics, 41(2), pp. 472-495. (doi: 10.1080/01402382.2017.1354528)

Langer, Ana Ines ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5331-544X and Sagarzazu, Inaki ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8350-0454 (2017) Are all policy decisions equal? Explaining the variation in media coverage of the UK Budget. Policy Studies Journal, 45(2), pp. 337-358. (doi: 10.1111/psj.12119)

Holtz-Bacha, Christina, Langer, Ana Ines ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5331-544X and Merkle, Susanne (2014) The personalisation of politics in comparative perspective: campaign coverage in Germany and the United Kingdom. European Journal of Communication, 29(2), pp. 153-170. (doi: 10.1177/0267323113516727)

Duckett, J. ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5401-5350 and Langer, A.I. ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5331-544X (2013) Populism versus neo-liberalism: diversity and ideology in the Chinese media's reporting of health system reform. Modern China, 39(6), pp. 653-680. (doi: 10.1177/0097700413492602)

Langer, A.I. ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5331-544X (2010) The politicization of private persona: exceptional leaders or the new rule? The case of the UK and the Blair effect. International Journal of Press/Politics, 15(1), pp. 60-76. (doi: 10.1177/1940161209351003)

Langer, A.I. (2007) A historical exploration of the personalisation of politics in the print media: the British prime ministers (1945-1999). Parliamentary Affairs, 60(3), pp. 371-387. (doi: 10.1093/pa/gsm028)

Scammell, M. and Langer, A.I. (2006) Political advertising: why is it so boring? Media, Culture and Society, 28(5), p. 763. (doi: 10.1177/0163443706067025)

Langer, A.I. (2005) Media consumption and public connection: toward a typology of the dispersed citizen. Communication Review, 8(2), pp. 237-257. (doi: 10.1080/10714420590953325)

Books

Langer, A.I. ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5331-544X (2011) The Personalisation of Politics in the UK: Mediated Leadership from Attlee to Cameron. Manchester University Press: Manchester. ISBN 9780719081460

Book Sections

Langer, A.I. ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5331-544X (2008) Peter Mandelson. In: Kaid, L.L. and Holtz-Bacha, C. (eds.) Encyclopedia of Political Communication. Sage: London. ISBN 9781412917995

Langer, A.I. ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5331-544X (2008) The royal press commission. In: Kaid, L.L. and Holtz-Bacha, C. (eds.) Encyclopedia of Political Communication. Sage: London. ISBN 9781412917995

Langer, A.I. ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5331-544X (2006) Political advertising in the United Kingdom. In: Kaid, L.L. and Holtz-Bacha, C. (eds.) The Sage Handbook of Political Advertising. Sage: Thousand Oaks, C.A., pp. 65-82. ISBN 9781412917957

Research Reports or Papers

Happer, Catherine ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9711-8544, Schlesinger, Philip ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0078-9630, Langer, Ana Ines ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5331-544X, Mabweazara, Hayes ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0460-7814 and Hinde, Dominic ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6081-5672 (2022) Scotland’s Sustainable Media Future: Challenges and Opportunities: a Stakeholder Analysis. Project Report. Glasgow University Media Group and Centre for Cultural Policy Research.

This list was generated on Mon Jun 30 19:38:09 2025 BST.

Grants

Grants

  • NIHR & MRC, 'Covid-19: Understanding Chinese Government Containment Measures and their Societal Impacts', co-PI, with Yajun Bao, Jane Duckett (PI), Yingru Li, Holly Snape, Ting Luo, Hua Wang, Bastian Struve, Weinan Wang, Aofei Lv, Meixuan Chen, Hairong Wang. £333,963, 2020–2022.

  • British Academy, 2019-2020 - £7,500 (with Luke Temple): 'Non-party campaigning and digital technologies'

  • Adam Smith Research Foundation Seedcorn Fund, 2009-2010 - £1600 (with Jane Duckett): 'Media Reporting of China’s Health Reforms, 2005-09’ 

  • Political Studies Association (PSA) Overseas Conference Grant

Supervision

PhD Supervision

  • Political campaigns (including electoral campaigns but also issue campaigns)
  • Media and policy making
  • The role of the media in the democratic process
  • Personalisation of politics

Recent students

  • Johannes Gruber: Troublemakers in the streets? An automated framing analysis of newspaper coverage of protests in the UK 1992-2016
  • David Jofre (completed 2019): Social movements and media practices in changing media ecology: The case of environmental and LGBTI+ activists in Chile
  • Beth Pearson (completed 2018): “The press is plural – it represents all the political parties” Media access for the transitional justice campaign during democratisation in Uruguay (1989-2012)

Teaching

Undergraduate Teaching

  • Politics 1A
  • Politics, Communication and Democracy

Postgraduate Teaching

  • Media and Democracy

Additional information

Other Roles

    • Convener of PhD programme in Politics & International Relations 
    • College and School Undergraduate Teaching & Learning Appeals Committee member

 

Other Publications & Media  




Ana Langer