Abstract: | The main determinant of the development of the contemporary political communication
constitutes the attempt to impart a rational dimension to the actions
of communication in compliance with Weber’s understanding of the term.
M. Weber claimed that rationism is a direct reflection of (a) the ability to determine
such aims which are optimal and adequate to one’s own resources within
a given situational context, as well as the possibility to calculate the consequences
of the actions undertaken (rational actions on account of the aim)
and/or (b) orientation of actions around a given value system (rational actions
on account of the values). In this view, a direction of the development of the
contemporary conception of political communication reflects the evolutionary
transformation of the relations between an axiological and instrumental-functional
approach to the process of creating, planning, and executing communication
strategies.
Four stages in the development of the conception of communicative actions
strategically ordered can be distinguished:
— stage I: domination of communicative actions oriented around the political
system of values preferable by the sender of the information (the stage of a
traditional political propaganda; the chief aim of communicative influences
— social integration/persuasion),
— stage II: a relative balance of actions oriented around preferable political values
and pragmatic aims (the stage of institutionalised political propaganda;
the chief aim of communicative influences — persuasion/integration/political
activation),
— stage III: domination of pragmatic aims parallel with political values preferable
by the sender of the information (the stage of early communication
campaigns market-oriented; the chief aim of communicative influences —
persuasion/political activation),
— stage IV: correlation of pragmatic aims and instrumental values (the stage
of a developed political marketing communication; the chief aim of communicative
influences — political motivation, with the main emphasis on the
election activation).
An increasing popularity of the marketing methods of organization and conducting
political campaigns should be treated as a subsequent stage of the search for the efficient formula of political communication, the stage whose main
determinants are the following:
— organizational transformation of traditional political subjects (political parties,
electional organizations of candidates),
— gradual professionalization of politics, in two perspectives: professionalization
of political parties evident in the increase of the role of professional politics in
making important organizational decisions, as well as the appearance of new
actors on the political stage, political consultants, taking over the position
of a central decisive centre in political organizations, with responsibility for
preparation and implementation of the political communication strategy,
— mediatisation of political communication — means of mass communication
have become the main transmission channel of political information on the
one hand, and, on the other hand, a kind of creator of the political reality,
shaping the image of the political market, particular political subjects, or
the course of political rivalry by active selection and exposure of given information
according to the commercial and/or political interests of the media
transmitters,
— change of the system of factors determining political behaviours (electional
behaviours in particular) of citizens — what becomes especially important
in this context is a progressing decrease of the level of political identification
leading to the increase of the number of citizens slightly engaged in the political
enterprise, possessing relatively low competences of receiving and understanding
transmitted political information, as well as basic problems with
taking a given political decision.
The complexity of the market conditions makes the subjects of political rivalry
choose and develop communication marketing strategies. Such a way of
organizing and realising political communicative campaigns — in accordance
with the four basic criteria: efficiency, predictability, calculationism, and the
use of advanced technology — may be treated as an optimal variant of a strategic
adjustment of the contemporary organizations to diversified requirements
of the political environment. |