Performative Polarization: The Interactional and Cultural Drivers of Political Antagonism

IF 1.4 1区社会学 Q2 SOCIOLOGY

Cultural Sociology Pub Date : 2023-08-05 DOI:10.1177/17499755231188808

M. Revers

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Political backlash against liberal democracy and ubiquitous clashes between different versions of identity politics in recent years evoked a heightened awareness of political polarization. Rather than examining the mechanics of this process, social science predominantly conceives political polarization in a rather static manner and measures its prevalence and causes within and between societies. This article views political polarization as taking shape in the experience of political conflict. It proposes a cultural performance framework suitable to examine the social drama of political conflict and its connections to interpersonal political dispute. Performative polarization is premised upon antagonizing one public in order to win over and energize another public. It views political antagonism as constituted by (1) powerful performers and performances that provide the preparatory symbolic work and scripts and (2) divided publics who arbitrate their dramatic acts in ensuing performances and who collectively generate political divisions. The anti-Critical Race Theory campaign in the USA serves as a case study to work through the elements of this theoretical framework.

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表演极化：政治对抗的互动和文化驱动因素

近年来，反对自由民主的政治反弹，以及不同版本的身份政治之间无处不在的冲突，引发了人们对政治两极分化的高度关注。社会科学主要是以一种相当静态的方式来看待政治两极分化，并衡量其在社会内部和社会之间的普遍性和原因，而不是研究这一过程的机制。本文认为政治两极分化是在政治冲突的经验中形成的。它提出了一个文化表演框架，适合于研究政治冲突的社会戏剧及其与人际政治纠纷的联系。表演极化的前提是对抗一个公众，以赢得和激励另一个公众。它认为政治对抗是由(1)强大的表演者和表演构成的，他们提供了预备的象征性作品和剧本;(2)分裂的公众，他们在随后的表演中仲裁他们的戏剧行为，并共同产生政治分歧。美国的反批判种族理论运动可以作为一个案例来研究这一理论框架的要素。

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来源期刊

Cultural Sociology SOCIOLOGY-

CiteScore

3.30

自引率

10.50%

发文量

期刊介绍： Cultural Sociology publishes empirically oriented, theoretically sophisticated, methodologically rigorous papers, which explore from a broad set of sociological perspectives a diverse range of socio-cultural forces, phenomena, institutions and contexts. The objective of Cultural Sociology is to publish original articles which advance the field of cultural sociology and the sociology of culture. The journal seeks to consolidate, develop and promote the arena of sociological understandings of culture, and is intended to be pivotal in defining both what this arena is like currently and what it could become in the future. Cultural Sociology will publish innovative, sociologically-informed work concerned with cultural processes and artefacts, broadly defined.