Everyday Political Talk and Political Action

• In Event: Political Discussions and Deliberation

Abstract

Taking forward a new agenda of online political deliberation – where the focus is on non-political online “third spaces”, and recognising pluralistic notions of the ‘political’ (Author A, 2008; Author C, 2012a) – this study examined the dynamics of political talk across three general interest UK-based forums. Our quantitative analysis of the forums showed how discussions about austerity were just as likely to emerge from everyday non-political discussions as they were ones that began as ‘political’, demonstrating the links people made between everyday experiences and public policy. Our qualitative analysis represents the first real attempt to analyse political actions within third spaces, with some striking outcomes. Over half of all political discussions led to at least one political action (with significant variation between forums). The findings demonstrate that whilst third spaces remain concerned with the preoccupations of everyday life, they can and do perform a role of mobilising agent towards political participation.

Authors

• Scott Graham Wright, University of Melbourne

• Todd Graham, U of Groningen

• Daniel Jackson, Bournemouth U