The transformation of communicative power into political power

Abstract

This article examines Jürgen Habermas’ concept of communicative power and describes how ittransforms into political power in actual decision-making. To do this, the article develops the use ofHabermas’ typology of validity claims in communicative action as a framework for analysis. Thisinvolves analyzing how public performances invoking these validity claims affect actors’“authority,” which is then capitalized in policy-making. The article thus integrates Habermas’procedural view of deliberative politics with the more culturally oriented view of politicalperformances. It also contributes to the discussion about the “mediatization of politics” byintroducing a communicative perspective to complement the more common institutional andsystems perspectives. This theoretical and analytical approach is illustrated by examples drawnfrom evidence in 16 semi-structured interviews conducted with participants in the policy networksinvolved in the 2015 Finnish labor market negotiations.Keywords: communicative power, political performance, Habermas, mediatization of politics,governance