Abstract
The basic structures and functions of democracy are continuously challenged by the surging political role of digital disruption coupled with new divisions of social, economic and technological forces cross-cutting the public domains of democracy. There are several key dimensions of politics that have been affected by the accelerating pace of technological change such as political participation, communication, decision-making, policy-making, legitimacy, agency and rhetoric. The chapter is focused on mapping the conceptual underpinnings of this dialogue between social and technological change in terms of the main theoretical concepts used to catch the essence of the political aspects of these transformative dynamics. One of the main conceptual frameworks explored in the chapter constitutes the dynamic relationships between different modes of societies as in the modern and postmodern, which rather than replacing each other are interacting with one another to alter the grids of political life. The clarifying of these properties of politics are used to define bricolage politics as a conceptual tool to cast a light on emerging dilemmas of sync between public preferences and policy on pressing issues such as Covid-19 with respect to, e.g. political agency and rhetoric.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
- 1.
- 2.
It must be noted, though, that the goals of the old left are not totally incompatible with those of the new left (Inglehart 1977, 243). There are of course broad mutual goals such as social equality and peace, and even if the motives of the old and new left differ, the political implications are in some areas similar. For instance, the goals of individualism and participatory orientation are highly likely to imply increasing co-determination at the workplace. The old emphasis on economic redistribution and the new demand on an ecologically motivated restructuring of the economy, both require relatively extensive mechanisms of control over the economy (Poguntke 1989, 181).
- 3.
The libertarian elements of the personal computer pioneers are described quite vividly by the following review comment on Freiberger and Swaine’s (1999) story of this ‘… ragtag group of college dropouts, hippies, and.
- 4.
Cf. Huntington’s description of the shift from the traditional to modern society: ‘Social science analysis of the transition from agrarian to industrial society began with a clear-cut dichotomy between the modern and the traditional. It soon became clear, however, that the process of modernization did not involve the displacement of the latter by the former, but rather the addition of modern elements to a society which still retained many of its components…. The society of the future, in any event, will be a mixture of industrial and postindustrial components’ (Huntington 1973, 191).
References
Abramson, P. R. (2011). Critiques and counter-critiques of the post-materialism thesis: Thirty-four years of debate. Centre for the Study of Democracy.
Ampuja, M., & Koivisto, J. (2014). From “post-industrial” to “network society” and beyond: The political conjunctures and current crisis of information society theory. Triple C, 12(2), 447–463.
Baker, K. L., Dalton, R. J., & Hildebrandt, K. (1981). Germany transformed: Political culture and the new politics. Harvard University Press.
Baudrillard, J. (1983). Simulations. The MIT Press.
Baudrillard, J. (2001). Selected writings (2nd ed.). Polity Press.
Bell, D. (1973). The coming of post-industrial society: A venture in social forecasting. Basic Books.
Böhme, G., & Stehr, N. (1986). Knowledge society. D. Reidel Publishing.
Bradford, V. (2002). ’Style, rhetoric, and postmodern culture’. Philosophy & Rhetoric, 35(3), 223–243.
Brants, K. & Voltmer, K. (2011). Political communication in postmodern democracy: Challenging the primacy of politics. Palgrave Macmillan.
Brym, R. (2016). ‘After postmaterialism: An essay on China, Russia and the United States’. Canadian Journal of Sociology, 42(2), 195–212.
Brzezinski, Z. (1970). Between two ages. America’s role in the technetronic era. The Viking Press.
Burke, M. (Director). (1999). Pirates of the silicon valley (Film). Turner Network Television.
Bürklin, W. P. (1984). Grüne Politik: Ideologische Zyklen. Westdeutscher Verlag.
Bürklin, W. P. (1985). The German greens: The post-industrial non-established and the party system. International Political Science Review, 6(4), 463–482.
Castells, M. (1996). The rise of the network society. Blackwell.
Castells, M. (1997). The power of identity. Blackwell.
Castells, M. (1998). End of millennium. Blackwell.
Castells, M. (2000). The rise of the network society. 2nd edition. Blackwell.
Castells, M. (2004). The network society: A cross-cultural perspective. Edward Elgar.
Chandler, W. M., & Siaroff, A. (1985). Postindustrial politics in Germany and the origins of the Greens. Comparative Politics, 18(1), 303–325.
Crook, S., Pakulski, J., & Waters, M. (1992). Postmodernization: Change in advanced society. Sage.
Dalton, R. J. (2019). Citizen politics. Public opinion and political parties in advanced industrial democracies. 7th edition. University of California Press.
van Deth, J. W. (1983). The persistence of materialist and post-materialist value orientations. European Journal of Political Research, 11, 63–79.
Drucker, P. F. (1959). The landmarks of tomorrow. Harper and Row.
Duch, R. M., & Taylor, M. A. (1993). Postmaterialism and the economic condition. American Journal of Political Science, 37(3), 747–779.
Featherstone, M. (1991). Postmodern sociology. Sage.
Flanagan, S. C., & Lee, A.-R. (2003). The new politics, culture wars, and the authoritarian-libertarian value change in advanced industrial democracies. Comparative Political Studies, 36(3), 235–270.
Flanagan, S. C. (1982). Measuring value change in advanced industrial societies: A rejoinder to Inglehart. Comparative Political Studies, 15(1), 99–128.
Flanagan, S. C. (1987). Value change in industrial societies. American Political Science Review, 81(4), 1289–1319.
Freiberger, P., & Swaine, M. (1999). Fire in the valley: The making of the personal computer. 2nd edition. McGraw-Hill Professional Publishing.
Frissen, P. H. A. (1999). Politics, governance and technology. Edward Elgar.
Gibbins, J. R., & Reimer, B. (1995). ‘Postmodernism’. In van Deth, J. & Scarbrough, E. (Eds), The impact of values. Oxford University Press.
Gibbins, J. R. (Ed.) (1989). Contemporary political culture. Politics in a postmodern age. Sage.
van Haute, E. (2016). Green parties in Europe. Routledge.
Hildebrandt, K-G. (1979). ‘The new industrial structure—The Scandinavian experience’. In Gustafsson, B. (Ed.), Post-industrial society. St. Martin’s Press.
Hooghe, L., & Marks, G. (2018). Cleavage theory meets Europe’s crises: Lipset, Rokkan, and the transnational cleavage. Journal of European Public Policy, 25(1), 109–135.
Huntington, S. P. (1973). Post-industrial politics: How benign will it be? Comparative Politics, 6(1), 163–191.
Inglehart, R. (1971). The silent revolution in Europe: Intergenerational change in post-industrial societies. American Political Science Review, 65(4), 991–1017.
Inglehart, R. (1977). The silent revolution. Princeton University Press.
Inglehart, R. (1990). Culture shift in advanced industrial society. Princeton University Press.
Inglehart, R. (1997). Modernization and postmodernization. Cultural, economic, and political Change in 43 societies. Princeton University Press.
Inglehart, R. (1999). ‘Postmodernization Erodes respect for authority, but increases support for democracy’. In Norris, P. (Ed.), Critical citizens: Global support for democratic governance. Oxford University Press.
Inglehart, R. (2018). Cultural evolution: People’s motivations are changing, and reshaping the world. Cambridge University Press.
Inglehart, R. & Rabier, J.-R. (1986). 'Political realignment in advanced industrial society: From class-based politics to quality-of-life politics'. Government & Opposition, 21(4), 457–479.
Inglehart, R. & Welzel, C. (2005). Modernization, cultural change and democracy: The Human Development Sequence. Cambridge University Press.
Innerarity, D. (2012). Power and knowledge: The politics of the knowledge society. European Journal of Social Theory, 16(1), 3–16.
Isaacson, W. (2011). Steve jobs: A bibliography. Simon & Schuster.
Kaase, M., & Newton, K. (1995). Beliefs in government. Beliefs in Government Volume 5. Oxford University Press.
Kirkpatrick, D. (2011). The facebook effect: The inside story of the company that is connecting the world. Simon & Schuster Paperbacks.
Klingemann, H. D., & Pappi, F.U. (1972). Politischer Radikalismus. Oldenbourg.
Kriesi, H., Grande, E., Dolezal, M., Helbling, M., Höglinger, D., Hutter, S., & Wüest, B. (2012). Political conflict in Western Europe. Cambridge University Press.
Kriesi, H., Grande, E., Lachat, R., Dolezal, M., Bornschier, S., & Frey, T. (2006). Globalization and the transformation of the national political space: Six European countries compared. European Journal of Political Research, 45(6), 921–956.
Lane, R. E. (1966). The decline of politics and ideology in a knowledgeable society. American Sociological Review, 31(5), 649–662.
Lasch, C. (1972). ‘Toward a theory of post-industrial society’. In Hancock, D. M. & Sjöberg, G. (Eds.), Politics in the post-welfare state. Columbia University Press.
Lash, S. (1990). Sociology of postmodernism. Routledge.
Lévi-Strauss, C. (1962). La pensée sauvage. Plon.
Lyotard, J-F. (1984). The postmodern condition: A report on knowledge. University of Minnesota Press.
Machlup, F. (1962). The production and distribution of knowledge in the United States. Princeton University Press.
Maslow, A.K. (1954). Motivation and personality. Harper & Brothers.
Masuda, Y. (1968). Jouhou Shakai Nyumon [Introduction to the study of information society]. Perikan-sha.
Masuda, Y. (1980). The information society and post-industrial society. World Future Society.
McLean, D. (2001). Review of Freiberger & Swaine (1999). Amazon.com. https://www.amazon.com/Fire-Valley-Making-Personal-Computer/dp/0071358927
Müller-Rommel, F. (Ed.) (1989). New politics in Western Europe: The rise and success of Green parties and alternative lists. Westview Press.
Norris, P. & Inglehart, R. (2019). Cultural backlash: Trump, brexit, and authoritarian populism. Cambridge University Press.
Philips, F., Yu, C.-Y., Hameed, T., & El Akhdary, M. A. (2017). The knowledge society’s origins and current trajectory. International Journal of Innovation Studies, 1, 175–191.
Poguntke, T. (1989). ‘The “new politics dimension” in European Green parties’. In Müller-Rommel, F. (Ed.), New politics in Western Europe: The rise and success of Green parties and alternative lists. Westview Press.
Pulkkinen, T. (2000). The postmodern and political agency. University of Jyväskylä.
Reimer, B. (1988). ‘No values—new values? Youth and postmaterialism’. Scandinavian Political Studies, 11(4), 347–360.
Reimer, B. (1989). ‘Postmodern structures of feeling: Values and life-styles in the postmodern age’. In Gibbins, J. R. (Ed.), Contemporary political culture: Politics in a postmodern age. Sage.
Repo, P., Timonen, P., & Zilliacus, K. (2009). Alternative regulatory cases challenging consumer policy. Journal of Consumer Policy, 32, 289–301.
Siisiäinen, M. (1985). ‘Interest, voluntary associations and the stability of the political system’. Acta Sociologica, 28(4), 293–315.
Stehr, N. (2016). Knowledge politics: Governing the consequences of science and technology. Routledge.
Stehr N. & Ruser, A. (2017). ‘Knowledge society, knowledge economy and knowledge democracy’. In Carayannis E., Campbell D., Efthymiopoulos M. (Eds.), Handbook of cyber-development, cyber-democracy, and cyber-defense. Springer.
Strömbäck, J. & Esser, F. (2014). ‘Mediatization of politics: Transforming democracies and reshaping politics’. In Lundby, K. (Ed.), Mediatization of communication. Handbooks of communication science, vol. 21. De Gruyter Mouton.
Thompson, M., Ellis, R., & Wildawsky, A. (1990). Cultural theory. Westview Press.
Thompson, M., Grendstad, G., & Selle, P. (1999). Cultural theory as political science. Routledge.
Umesao, T. (1963). ‘Information industry theory: Dawn of the coming era of the ectodermal industry’. Hoso Asahi, January, 4–17.
Weber, M. (1970). The protestant ethic and the spirit of capitalism. Unwin.
Wiener, N. (1948). Cybernetics, or control and communication in the animal and the machine. MIT Press.
Yujiro, H. (1969). Jouhouka Shakai (Informatized society): Hado na Shakai kara Sofuto na Shakai e. Koudanhsa.
Zilliacus, K. & Puohiniemi, M. (2019). ‘Postmodern patterns of values and (dis)beliefs. Setting up an index of postmodern thinking to explore the political challenges of technological change’. Paper presented at the 5th TRACE Symposium, 22–23 August, University of Jyväskylä.
Zilliacus, K. (2001a). The Greens and the left wing of the 1990s—Profiles of ‘new politics’ in Finland. West European Politics, 24(1), 27–54.
Zilliacus, K. (2001b). Modern vs postmodern politics: Theoretical perspectives. SSKH Reports and Discussion Papers 3. Research Institute. Swedish School of Social Sciences, University of Helsinki.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2022 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Zilliacus, K. (2022). Mapping Postmodern Patterns of Political Agency and Rhetoric: Established Politics Facing Bricolage. In: Kauppi, N., Palonen, K. (eds) Rhetoric and Bricolage in European Politics and Beyond. Rhetoric, Politics and Society. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-98632-2_7
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-98632-2_7
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-98631-5
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-98632-2
eBook Packages: Political Science and International StudiesPolitical Science and International Studies (R0)