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The article presents an interview with Katrin Voltmer, Professor of Communication and Democracy at the University of Leeds. Topics discussed include knowledge about role of media in democratization, relationships between media and democratic socialization, and source of social capital such as cultural identities including ethnicity or religion.

This article examines the role of new media in countries in transition. Using original survey data from Egypt (2012), we examine individuals' use of media to search for information following Egypt's participation in the Arab Spring. There are two provocative findings. One, different media satisfy informational searches at local, regional and international levels. And two, the profiles of 'new media' users are the most distinct among all mediums, matching the participants in non-traditional forms of political participation, namely urban-living males with education and access to income. Thus, in contrast to the technological determinism of some optimistic 'new media' supporters, in countries with low access levels to connectivity, this may suggest an analytical shift from medium to user to better facilitate our understanding of the role of new media in countries in transition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]