Political Participation and Motivation: The Heuristic Potential of Sociological Concepts of Donatella Della Porta and Drew Halfmann (comparative analysis)

Abstract

The aim of the article is to demonstrate the potential of sociological concepts by Italian political scientist and sociologist Donatella Della Porta and American sociologist Drew Halfmann, to analyze political participation and motivation for it, to determine a new perspective for understanding the essence of political participation, the factors by which political involvement can be transformed. Within the framework of the analysis of D. Della Porta’s concept, the features of the organization of social movements and the mobilization of their participants in the information society are outlined, based on the emergence of horizontal ties between the participants of social movements based on the formation of identity, solidarity, collective actions and democratic innovations. The features of citizens’ political participation and the process of opinion formation in connection with the functioning of communicative spaces with high discursive quality are described. Attention is drawn to the D. Della Porta’s concept of political consumerism, which defines heuristic possibilities for studying political participation through the lens of political consumption and demonstrative behavior, as well as identifying factors influencing political participation (belonging to a group, hedonism, demonstration of a certain way of life, etc.). Within the framework of the analysis of the concept of D. Halfmann, the specificity of the implementation of social policy and its influence on citizens, the success of social movements depending on the political context are considered. D. Halfmann’s argument regarding the conceptual advantages of using the term “political context” to identify institutional conditions and factors conducive to political participation is outlined, and the author’s position on the expediency of using the term “political opportunity” is indicated, taking into account the institutional, structural and dynamic factors of the political system. The tools that can facilitate the mobilization of social movement participants, in particular the grotesque proposed by D. Halfmann and meme as its counterpart in modern society, are considered.