Features of institutionalization of communicative legitimacy in the information society

Abstract

The article is devoted to the study of the features of the institutionalization of communicative legitimacy in the context of the information society. Using a comparative approach to study political practices in the USA, Germany, France, Russia and China allows us to show how digitalization and network communications influence the processes of legitimization of power. Institutionalization of communicative legitimacy means the formation of sustainable processes and institutions that ensure the recognition of power through dialogue with society, transparency of procedures, citizen participation and symbolic gestures. The article also analyzes the affordances of new digital participation platforms (online petitions, public consultations, virtual forums), as well as possible risks - fragmentation of the public sphere, decentralization of legitimation and loss of control over information flows. The article considers the most famous platforms of electronic participation: the White House petition platform in the USA, Grand Débat in France, the Bundestag petition portal in Germany, the Active Citizen project in Moscow, and online petition practices in China. The results of the study allow us to state that the information society creates broad opportunities for institutionalizing the dialogue between the authorities and society, but requires rethinking the mechanisms for maintaining trust and legitimacy. The article presents the similarities and differences in the approaches of national states, and makes recommendations for the development of political institutions of communicative legitimacy in the era of digitalization.