Anastasia Kavada

Anastasia Kavada is a Reader in Media and Politics at the University of Westminster's School of Media and Communication, where she leads the MA in Media, Campaigning and Social Change. She previously served as Deputy Director and then Co-Director of the Communication and Media Research Institute (CAMRI) from 2015 to 2019, and co-led the Arts, Communication and Culture Research Community from 2019-2022.

Her educational background includes a PhD in Media and Communication and an MA in Communication from the University of Westminster, and a BSc in Marketing and Public Relations from the Athens University of Economics and Business.

Kavada's research focuses on the relationship between online tools, advocacy groups and social movements, particularly examining the role of the internet in alternative practices of democracy, processes of organizing, decision-making, and collective identity formation. Her work investigates how digital media affects activists' interactions with media and campaign targets. She has conducted significant research on organizations like Avaaz, Amnesty International, and 38 Degrees, as well as social movements such as Occupy, Nuit Debout, and the Indignant Movement in Greece. Her doctoral research explored email lists and web usage by activists in the Global Justice Movement in Europe.

Her extensive publication record demonstrates consistent contribution to the field of digital media and social movements, with recent work examining the caring public sphere, vulnerability in digital activism, and the intersection of feminist theory with protest movements. She is currently writing a monograph titled 'Experiments in Democracy: Digital Communication and Social Movements'.

• Mid-Career Fellowship from the British Academy (2013-2014)
• Corresponding editor for Media, Culture and Society
• Advisory board member for Social Media + Society and International Journal of E-Politics
• Co-Convenor of 'Internet and Politics' Standing Group of ECPR (2013-2016)

Kavada actively supervises numerous doctoral students working on topics related to digital media, social movements, and political communication. Her funded research includes projects supported by the National Science Foundation (USA), British Academy, and Greek Ministry of Education. She is deeply involved with the Centre for Social Media Research and the Communication and Media Research Institute at the University of Westminster, fostering interdisciplinary collaboration in media and communication studies.