André Baltz

André Baltz serves as a Lecturer at Umeå University's Department of Culture and Media Studies within the Faculty of Arts. His academic work focuses on digital communication practices in public sector organizations, particularly Swedish municipalities.

His research spans public sector communication, social media analysis, and participatory democracy, with emphasis on how municipalities use digital platforms for citizen engagement. Key methodologies include institutional theory, discourse analysis, and large-scale digital text analysis. His work reveals how municipalities employ phatic communication to build social relationships and local identity through social media.

Baltz recently completed his doctoral thesis Dialog och digital kommunikation i svenska kommuner (2024), examining municipal communication practices through field studies in Örnsköldsvik (2015-2019) and longitudinal Facebook analysis (2009-2017). His publications demonstrate consistent focus on strategic communication, deliberative systems, and the evolving role of digital media in local governance.

His communicative approach emphasizes understanding both how municipalities speak to citizens and how they listen through various channels—from social media to physical meetings. This dual perspective reveals tensions between inclusion ideals and practical consensus-building challenges in municipal deliberation.