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Rules of engagement: how current tactics corrode the relationship between progressive parties and their bases, and potential means of re-mobilizing the Left.

The professionalization of political parties has significantly altered the means by which parties interact with voters and supporters. The current study is an attempt to examine what these changes in political communication mean for the ability of parties to organize supporters and mobilize them both in a campaign setting and in the longer-term struggle. Habermasian and Gramscian perspectives on the relational aspects of political communication highlight the challenges presented by the growing unidirectionality of communication and the concomitant atrophying of intermediary institutions. Beyond this, the work of Bottici and McLuhan is used to expose the effects of the 'arational' aspects of these changes in both form and content. To test the plausibility of the theoretical insights obtained, the case of the New Democratic Party of Canada is considered. The study concludes by considering the potential of new technological developments for resolving or mitigating concerns identified throughout the thesis. / Graduate

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:uvic.ca/oai:dspace.library.uvic.ca:1828/3950
Date30 April 2012
CreatorsAshbourne, Craig Donald
ContributorsCarroll, William K.
Source SetsUniversity of Victoria
LanguageEnglish, English
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeThesis
RightsAvailable to the World Wide Web

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