[Thesis defense] 30/06/2025 - Jeanne Vermeirsche: "On the trail of a political Wikipedia" (UPR JPEG/ FR Agorantic)

Jeanne Vermeirsche will be publicly defending her thesis entitled "On the trail of a political Wikipedia - Writing politics in an encyclopaedic space: discourses, contributors and online discussions put to the test of a digital democracy", on Monday 30 June at Avignon University.

Laboratory

• UPR 3788 -JPEG - Legal, Political, Economic and Management Sciences Laboratory
• EN Agorantic

Composition of the jury

Ms Christele LAGIER	Avignon University	Thesis supervisor
Mr Damon MAYAFFRE	Côte d'Azur University	Rapporteur
Ms Fabienne GREFFET	University of Lorraine	Rapporteur
Ms Aurélie CAMPANA	Laval University	Examiner
Mr Etienne OLLION	Paris Polytechnic Institute	Examiner
Ms Jessica SAINTY	Avignon University	Examiner
Ms Stéphanie WOJCIK	University of Paris Est Créteil	Examiner
Mr Eric SANJUAN	Avignon University	Thesis co-director

Summary

In this thesis, we propose an in-depth exploration of Wikipedia as a digital political space and object. Using an interdisciplinary approach that combines the methods and theoretical frameworks of political science, statistics and computer science, we examine the production and circulation of political knowledge in a particular collaborative digital space. More specifically, through the circulation of French political discourse on the theme of nationalism, we analyse how these discourses are transformed and negotiated within this encyclopaedia. On the basis of these analyses, we are able to describe the discursive dynamics specific to the contributing actors, while delineating the democratic issues specific to Wikipedia. The interdisciplinary method we have developed enables us to create an original field within this online space.

In this way, we show that Wikipedia does not simply reflect the partisan discourse produced by French political parties on the theme of nationalism, but reformulates it according to rules specific to the platform, in particular those of neutrality, verifiability and deliberation in the search for consensus. This neutrality is a collective construct embodied in self-regulation practices and strict standards, which help to produce a specific political knowledge, distinct from professional or activist knowledge. In this way, it fosters the emergence of a "lay" political voice outside the traditional arenas of political power. Wikipedia thus appears to be an experimental form of digital democracy, where deliberation and reasoned confrontation take precedence over the immediacy and polarisation at work in well-known social networks. Participation in Wikipedia transforms power relations, offering contributors unprecedented opportunities for politicisation, political learning and civic engagement.

However, this democratic openness remains selective. Participation is dominated by male contributors with high levels of educational, professional and political resources. In reality, Wikipedia's internal dynamics reproduce the social inequalities traditionally seen in online and offline political participation. What emerges is a strong tendency for contributors who are most regularly involved in political issues to gain in expertise. This expertise confers authority and legitimacy, sometimes comparable to that of traditional political players, and has a direct influence on the production, selection and legitimisation of the political knowledge that is made visible within the encyclopaedia. This online space then becomes the site of possible professional reconversions directly linked to the Wikipedian experience. Finally, the thesis warns against the growing criticism of Wikipedia today, which accuses it of ideological bias. Instead, we invite you to consider this online encyclopaedia as a living laboratory for contemporary transformations in our relationship to knowledge and politics in digital spaces.

Keywords Digital democracy, Political discourse, Wikipedia, Online communities, TALN, Sociology of digital technology