Who shapes the agenda? Have political parties lost some of their autonomy vis-à-vis the media? When does communication strengthen democracy and when does it undermine it?

The book explores how political communication, as a Janus figure between emancipation and manipulation, transforms modern democracies. Part I analyzes three fundamental dimensions of political communication –intermediation, interdependence, and influence– and their implications for the autonomy of the political sphere and the quality of democracy.

Part II offers an analytical model and a periodization of political communication in Greece, focusing on the Third Hellenic Republic. The book traces the transition from the party bipolar system and political press (1980s) to private television and publishing groups (1990s), from the political-media power system (1996-2009) to its deconstruction during the crisis and the digital platforms era, and finally to the new phase of multiple crises after 2019, assessing the consequences for democratic legitimacy, political competition, and the quality of information.

The book provides the conceptual framework and historical depth that allow us to understand the current ambiguous condition of political communication, lying between democratic expansion and its weakening.