https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/13770 2026-07-19T07:17:31Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/147965 Title: Language : a metaphor for enlargement? Abstract: Reflecting on the history of European Union enlargement, this paper uses the trajectory of the Maltese language since Malta's 2004 accession as a powerful metaphor for the broader dynamics of EU integration. While achieving official EU language status brought Malteses structural visibility, cultural prestige, and institutional resources, it also exposed systemic challenges including a shortage of qualified linguists and the immediate need to expand technical vocabulary. This linguistic journey mirrors the dual nature of enlargement—offering significant symbolic and practical opportunities while demanding continuous national adaptation and sustained domestic investment. The paper further examines Malta’s broader socio-economic transformation between 2003 and 2024, addressing how rapid economic growth, demographic shifts, and environmental vulnerabilities intersect with its Europeanization process, ultimately arguing that long-term strategic planning must take precedence over short-term political gains in an ever-evolving Union. 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/147956 Title: Still second order? The 2024 European Parliament election in Malta Authors: Migliorati, Marta; Pace, Roderick Abstract: This article examines the fifth European Parliament election since Malta joined the European Union through the lens of second-order election (SOE) theory. Drawing on party manifestoes, media, citizens’ priorities, electoral results, and preference transfers under single transferable vote system, we assess the extent to which the campaign and outcomes were shaped by domestic rather than European political dynamics. Campaign debates and media coverage were overwhelmingly domestically framed. Turnout remained high by EU standards but lower than in national elections. While the governing party experienced losses, small parties and independent candidates performed better than in national contests. Overall, the Maltese case provides support for SOE theory, while highlighting the growing role of abstention and ballot exhaustion as channels of second-order protest. 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/147951 Title: Malta : the Labour Party wins again – as predicted Abstract: This article analyzes the results and implications of the May 30, 2026, Maltese general election. While the incumbent Labour Party (PL) secured a comfortable parliamentary majority to grant Prime Minister Robert Abela another term, the Nationalist Party (PN) under its new leader, Alex Borg, achieved significant gains across all districts, narrowing the previous vote gap. The analysis evaluates the campaign dynamics, the core themes of the major parties' manifestoes—focusing on shifting economic models and public dissatisfaction over rapid growth—and the structural barriers within Malta's single transferable vote system that continue to marginalize smaller political parties. 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/146569 Title: Faces of Europe : structural drivers of visual personalization in political parties’ Facebook campaigns Authors: Magin, Melanie; Russmann, Uta; Vulcano, Rossella; von Nostitz, Felix‐Christopher; Wurst, Anna‐Katharina; Gattermann, Katjana; Alonso‐Muñoz, Laura; Cristina Balaban, Delia; Baranowski, Paweł; Burai, Krisztina; Cachia, Jean Claude; Deželan, Tomaž; Garaj, Michal; Hermans, Babette; Kallinikos, Konstantinos; Kannasto, Elisa; Kruschinski, Simon; Lappas, Georgios; Machado, Sara; Macková, Alena Pospíšil; Segesten, Anamaria Dutceac; Skulte, Ilva; Vučković, Milica; Wal, Matt Abstract: Social media platforms have become central arenas for election campaigning, pushing political actors to adapt to their attention‐driven logics. One prominent strategy is visual personalization, reflecting the platforms’ person‐centered, image‐driven design. This study offers the first large‐scale, cross‐national analysis of how political parties across 23 EU countries strategically employed two dimensions of visual personalization—individualization and privatization—on Facebook during the 2024 European Parliament election campaign. It examines how their digital campaign output was shaped by two party‐level factors (populist vs. non‐populist status; government vs. opposition) and two country‐level factors (electoral systems; degree of authoritarianism). Based on a manual content analysis of 14,553 posts, we find that individualization was far more common than privatization and that party‐level characteristics exerted stronger influence than country‐level contexts. Populist and governing parties used more individualization. Privatization was more prevalent among non‐populist parties and in more liberal environments. These findings challenge assumptions about populist and authoritarian communication styles and make a theoretical contribution by demonstrating that visual personalization is a multidimensional phenomenon whose specific dimensions respond differently to structural incentives. Our results underscore the need to analytically separate individualization and privatization and to account for their distinct contextual drivers when assessing political personalization in digital environments. 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z