Rules of Engagement: How Current Tactics Corrode the Relationship Between Progressive Parties and Their Bases, and Potential Means of Re-Mobilizing the Left
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Rules of Engagement: How current tactics corrode the relationship between progressive parties and their bases, and potential means of re-mobilizing the Left by Craig Donald Ashbourne B.A., University of Western Ontario, 2008 A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF ARTS in the Department of Sociology © Craig Donald Ashbourne, 2012 University of Victoria All rights reserved. This thesis may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopy or other means, without the permission of the author. Rules of Engagement: How current tactics corrode the relationship between progressive parties and their bases, and potential means of re-mobilizing the Left by Craig Donald Ashbourne B.A., University of Western Ontario, 2008 Supervisory Committee Dr. William Carroll (Department of Sociology) Supervisor Dr. Douglas Baer (Department of Sociology) Departmental Member Dr. James Lawson (Department of Political Science) Outside Member ii Abstract Supervisory Committee Dr. William Carroll (Department of Sociology) Supervisor Dr. Douglas Baer (Department of Sociology) Departmental Member Dr. James Lawson (Department of Political Science) Outside Member The professionalization of political parties has significantly altered the means by which parties interact with voters and supporters. The current study is an attempt to examine what these changes in political communication mean for the ability of parties to organize supporters and mobilize them both in a campaign setting and in the longer-term struggle. Habermasian and Gramscian perspectives on the relational aspects of political communication highlight the challenges presented by the growing unidirectionality of communication and the concomitant atrophying of intermediary institutions. Beyond this, the work of Bottici and McLuhan is used to expose the effects of the ‗arational‘ aspects of these changes in both form and content. To test the plausibility of the theoretical insights obtained, the case of the New Democratic Party of Canada is considered. The study concludes by considering the potential of new technological developments for resolving or mitigating concerns identified throughout the thesis. iii Table of Contents Supervisory Committee .................................................................................................................. ii Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... iii Table of Contents ........................................................................................................................... iv List of Figures ................................................................................................................................ vi Acknowledgments......................................................................................................................... vii Dedication .................................................................................................................................... viii Chapter 1: Introduction ....................................................................................................................1 Chapter 2: The Professionalization of Political Communication ..................................................13 Political Communication and the Media ................................................................................................. 14 Political Communication and Modernity ................................................................................................ 19 Processes and Effects .............................................................................................................................. 24 The centralization of control ............................................................................................................... 24 The leader as focus ............................................................................................................................. 28 Capital and labour ............................................................................................................................... 30 Air war vs. ground war ....................................................................................................................... 31 Chapter 3: Relational Politics – Habermas & Gramsci .................................................................36 Habermas – Communication and Strategy .............................................................................................. 37 The structure of speech ....................................................................................................................... 38 Communicative action vs. strategic action ......................................................................................... 42 Strategic action and the air war ........................................................................................................... 43 Relational breakdown ......................................................................................................................... 47 Intermediaries Failing – The Growing Gap between Centre and Mass .................................................. 53 The modern prince .............................................................................................................................. 54 What‘s wrong with a vanguard? ......................................................................................................... 55 Structural effects ................................................................................................................................. 58 Chapter 4: Myth, Frame and Medium............................................................................................64 Beyond the Rational – Mythos and Logos .............................................................................................. 66 Inter-relational significance ................................................................................................................ 70 Framing the Argument ............................................................................................................................ 71 Metaphor and frame ............................................................................................................................ 73 Beyond Content – Frames in Form ......................................................................................................... 78 The medium is the message ................................................................................................................ 78 Emotional appeals ............................................................................................................................... 80 Effects of Framing on Progressive Parties .............................................................................................. 83 No more shades of grey ...................................................................................................................... 85 Conservative and progressive brains? ................................................................................................. 87 Chapter 5: Case Study: CCF/NDP .................................................................................................92 iv The Early CCF ........................................................................................................................................ 97 Turning Point – The New Party and Waffle Reaction (1961-1972) ..................................................... 102 Turning Point – The NPI and Jack Layton (2001-2011) ....................................................................... 113 Is it ‗Plausible‘? .................................................................................................................................... 124 Chapter 6: Conclusion..................................................................................................................127 Further Research ................................................................................................................................... 128 Implications for Progressive Parties...................................................................................................... 130 Encouraging two-way communication ............................................................................................. 135 Rebuilding intermediaries ................................................................................................................. 139 Frames and mediums that work ........................................................................................................ 141 References ....................................................................................................................................145 v List of Figures Figure 1 ....................................................................................................................................... 100 Figure 2 ........................................................................................................................................120 Figure 3 ........................................................................................................................................121 vi Acknowledgements I would first like to thank my supervisor, Bill Carroll, and committee members Jamie Lawson