Hallin and Mancini: Two Decades of Influence in Politics and Communications

Abstract

Since its publication in 2004, Hallin and Mancini’s model has become a pioneer in understanding the dynamics of media systems in different national contexts. Many studies related to politics that identify the patterns, trends, and variations used by communication systems in different countries and historical moments follow this seminal study to evaluate the formation of public opinion and the quality of democracy. For this article, we obtained 3,455 articles published in Web of Science within the Social Sciences Citation Index using the open-source software Science Mapping Analysis Tool, which we chose as a bibliometric technique for its feasibility in providing a conceptual structure through the spatial representation and disciplinary interrelation with fields like specialization, studies, and authors. By analyzing the co-occurrence of keywords, we drew scientific maps that enable the analysis of their conceptual and social evolution over consecutive periods. The results provide up-to-date information on the state of the model and its relevance in the field of communication and policy today, its strengths, limitations and potential areas of development. The findings identify less studied areas in the field, drawing inspiration from the Mancini model. This opens up a guide for future research by identifying themes and questions through bibliometric analysis.