The Evolution of Thematic Communities in International Political Communication across Four Eras:From the Age of Innocence to the Conquest of Digital Networks

The global order is shaped by the power dynamics and discourse competition among major nations. Within this context, international political communication is pivotal in shaping modern international relations. However, few studies have examined the evolution and themes of international political communication through large-scale literature and long-term temporal analysis. This study employs network mining methods to conduct a longitudinal analysis of political communication research spanning 28 years in the Web of Science database. It identifies 11 key themes, including public opinion, political participation, media coverage, and disinformation. The findings reveal that since 1995, with the expansion of the internet, political communication entered an “Age of Innocence, ” characterized by an abundance of high-quality studies and an expanding academic landscape. As the information society matured, the initial optimism about “the Messiah of Democracy” began to wane, marking the transition to a second phase, often referred to as the “Age of Disillusionment. ” The third Age is claimed as “the golden age of social networks”, online public opinion and social media emerged as primary focuses of political communication. As to the “Conquest of the Digital Network Era”, a surge of novel topics has emerged, although research on the universality of classical theories and concepts has comparatively slowed. Across these four eras, persistent dialectics and dialogues highlight the ongoing development of political communication.