Political discourse in the Internet space: subjects, forms, risks

摘要

The Internet has turned into a space of mass communication. The network resources successfully compete with the media in formats and outreach to the audience. The study of political processes in the Internet space, the analysis of participating parties, the volume and the quality of network communications, and the models of discourse give a new direction to the sociological research - the sociology of the Internet. The transformation of social practices in the modern world justifiably brings changes in the traditional mechanisms of socio-political interaction. Political communications, which are in vanguard of actualization, articulation and demonstration of the socio-political relations, are exposed to the innovative processes and have to adapt to new challenges. New quantitative and qualitative characteristics of political communications, used in the Internet space, should be assessed outside the rigid Rood versus bad categories. The dynamic transformations of modern organizational and communication technologies cannot receive any prompt yet clear public assessment, and many aspects of political discourse are still at the stage of formation. Thus, it is crucial to explore the possibilities of social networks，the communicating parties, and the forms of communication and evaluate the potential of regular citizens (users) who are able to participate in the political discourse of the modern society.