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Political Science
Switzerland
2026
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Law and Political Science
Switzerland
2022

D-Index & Metrics

Political Science

D-Index
59
Citations
16025
World Ranking
121
National Ranking
3

Research.com Recognitions

  • 2026 - Research.com Political Science in Switzerland Leader Award
  • 2025 - Research.com Political Science in Switzerland Leader Award
  • 2023 - Research.com Political Science in Switzerland Leader Award
  • 2022 - Research.com Law and Political Science in Switzerland Leader Award

Overview

Frank Esser is affiliated with the University of Zurich in Switzerland and conducts research primarily within the social sciences. Their scholarly work focuses on communication, sociology and political science, artificial intelligence, political science and international relations, as well as statistical and nonlinear physics.

The main topics explored in Esser's research include:

  • Social Media and Politics
  • Misinformation and Its Impacts
  • Media Studies and Communication
  • Media Influence and Politics
  • Hate Speech and Cyberbullying Detection
  • Opinion Dynamics and Social Influence
  • Public Relations and Crisis Communication

Esser has published extensively in various academic journals. Frequent publication venues include:

  • The International Journal of Press/Politics
  • Digital Journalism
  • Information Communication & Society
  • Journalism Studies
  • Political Communication

Significant recent papers authored or co-authored by Esser include:

  • "Resilience to Online Disinformation: A Framework for Cross-National Comparative Research" (2020) in The International Journal of Press/Politics
  • "Does a Crisis Change News Habits? A Comparative Study of the Effects of COVID-19 on News Media Use in 17 European Countries" (2021) in Digital Journalism
  • "Does the platform matter? Social media and COVID-19 conspiracy theory beliefs in 17 countries" (2021) in New Media & Society
  • "Navigating High-Choice European Political Information Environments: a Comparative Analysis of News User Profiles and Political Knowledge" (2021) in The International Journal of Press/Politics
  • "Selective exposure in different political information environments - How media fragmentation and polarization shape congruent news use" (2021) in European Journal of Communication

Esser collaborates frequently with several researchers in the field. Notable co-authors include:

  • Peter Van Aelst
  • Claes H. de Vreese
  • Laia Castro
  • Karolina Koç-Michalska
  • Toril Aalberg

Best Publications

  • Political communication in a high-choice media environment: a challenge for democracy?

    Peter van Aelst;Jesper Strömbäck;Toril Aalberg;Frank Esser

  • Populism and social media: how politicians spread a fragmented ideology

    Sven Engesser;Nicole Ernst;Frank Esser;Florin Büchel

  • Populist Political Communication in Europe

    Toril Aalberg;Frank Esser;Carsten Reinemann;Jesper Strömbäck

  • `Tabloidization' of News: A Comparative Analysis of Anglo-American and German Press Journalism

    Frank Esser

  • Mediatization of politics : understanding the transformation of western democracies

    Frank Esser;Jesper Strömbäck

  • Populism as an Expression of Political Communication Content and Style: A New Perspective.

    Claes H. de Vreese;Frank Esser;Toril Aalberg;Carsten Reinemann

  • Mediatization as a Challenge: Media Logic Versus Political Logic

    Frank Esser

  • Dimensions of Political News Cultures: Sound Bite and Image Bite News in France, Germany, Great Britain, and the United States

    Frank Esser

  • Extreme parties and populism: an analysis of Facebook and Twitter across six countries

    Nicole Ernst;Sven Engesser;Florin Büchel;Sina Blassnig

  • Negativity in political news: A review of concepts, operationalizations and key findings

    Günther Lengauer;Frank Esser;Rosa Berganza

  • Comparing political communication : theories, cases, and challenges

    Frank Esser;Barbara Pfetsch

  • Mediatization of Politics : Towards a Theoretical Framework

    Jesper Strömbäck;Frank Esser

  • Shaping Politics: Mediatization AND Media Interventionism

    Jesper Strömbäck;Frank Esser

  • Eskalation durch Berichterstattung? : Massenmedien und fremdenfeindliche Gewalt

    Hans-Bernd Brosius;Frank Esser

  • Handbook of comparative communication research

    Frank Esser;Thomas Hanitzsch

  • Resilience to Online Disinformation: A Framework for Cross-National Comparative Research:

    Edda Humprecht;Frank Esser;Peter Van Aelst

  • Editorial Structures and Work Principles in British and German Newsrooms

    Frank Esser

  • Spin doctors in the United States, Great Britain, and Germany metacommunication about media manipulation

    Frank Esser;Carsten Reinemann;David P Fan

  • Comparative research methods

    Frank Esser;Rens Vliegenthart

  • Mediatization of Politics

    Frank Esser;Jesper Strömbäck

  • Politische Kommunikation im internationalen Vergleich

    Frank Esser;Barbara Pfetsch

  • Heinz Bonfadelli: Medienwirkungsforschung I: Grundlagen und theoretische Perspektiven ; Heinz Bonfadelli: Medienwirkungsforschung II: Anwendungen in Politik, Wirtschaft und Kultur

    Frank Esser

  • Politische Kommunikation im internationalen Vergleich : Grundlagen, Anwendungen, Perspektiven

    Frank Esser;Barbara Pfetsch

  • Gut, dass wir verglichen haben. Bilanz und Bedeutung der komparativen politischen Kommunikationsforschung

    Frank Esser

  • Negativität in der Politikberichterstattung: Deutschland, Österreich und die Schweiz im Vergleich

    Sven Engesser;Frank Esser;Carsten Reinemann;Sebastian Scherr

  • Politische Kommunikation im internationalen Vergleich: Neuorientierung in einer veränderten Welt

    Barbara Pfetsch;Frank Esser

  • Visuelle Kandidatendarstellung in Wahlkampfbeiträgen deutscher und amerikanischer Fernsehsender – Image Bites, Rollenbilder und nonverbales Verhalten

    Michael Sülflow;Frank Esser

  • Metaberichterstattung: Medienselbstthematisierung und Publicity-Thematisierung in amerikanischen, britischen und deutschen Wahlkämpfen

    Frank Esser

  • "Politische Kommunikation im internationale Vergleich Grundlagen, Anwendungen, Perspektiven", hrsg. Frank Esser, Barbara Pfetsch, Wiesbaden 2003 : [recenzja] / Stanisław Michalczyk.

    Stanisław Michalczyk;Frank Esser;Barbara Pfetsch

  • Herausforderungen und Möglichkeiten der Regierungskommunikation im Aargau

    Frank Esser;Stephanie Schwab Cammarano;Sven Engesser;Béatrice Ziegler

  • Die politischen Hoffnungen des Internets

    Ruth Kunz;Frank Esser

Frequent Co-Authors

Jesper Strömbäck
Jesper Strömbäck University of Gothenburg
Claes H. de Vreese
Claes H. de Vreese University of Amsterdam
Toril Aalberg
Toril Aalberg Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Hans-Bernd Brosius
Hans-Bernd Brosius Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
Jörg Matthes
Jörg Matthes University of Vienna
Peter Van Aelst
Peter Van Aelst University of Antwerp
Tamir Sheafer
Tamir Sheafer Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Hanspeter Kriesi
Hanspeter Kriesi European University Institute
Thomas Hanitzsch
Thomas Hanitzsch Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
Rasmus Kleis Nielsen
Rasmus Kleis Nielsen University of Copenhagen

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