Challenges of Democracy in the Age of celebritization of politics

Document Type : Original Research

Authors
1 Full professor at the University of Tehran
2 PhD student in Political Sociology, University of Tehran
Abstract
It has been several decades since celebrities entered politics; this entry has been so abrupt and overwhelming that some political scientists talk of the celebritization of politics. The celebritization of politics has had a number of far-reaching implications for several areas of politics, including democracy as the major one. Nevertheless, this phenomenon- willingly or unwillingly and whatever the reason- has been left out of serious academic discussions or has been ignored altogether, and hence the lack of a theoretical basis is strongly felt. The present study tries to fill this theoretical gap in the field of politics and pave the way for further research on such a common phenomenon in modern politics. The research findings show that the challenges posed to democracy in the age of celebrity politics need to be examined in three steps that can be set in the political agenda and the politics of distraction; politics of scandal: dramatization of politics and the decline of democracy; and finally the weakening of the party system. The novelty of the present article rests in its discoveries regarding the impact of celebrity politics and examination of the characteristics of this impact on democracy.

Keywords

Subjects


. Lalancette, Mireille & Raynauld, Vincent. (2019). The Power of Political Image: Justin Trudeau, Instagram, and Celebrity Politics. American Behavioral Scientist. 63.p 4-5
Archer, Alfred & Cawston, Amanda. (2021). Celebrity Politics and Democratic Elitism. Topoi. 1-11.p 2-3
. Wheeler, Mark. (2012). The Democratic Worth of Celebrity Politics in an Era of Late Modernity. British Journal of Politics and International Relations. 14. P 13-14
. Wood, M., Corbett, J., & Flinders, M. (2016). Just like us: Everyday celebrity politicians and the pursuit of popularity in an age of anti-politics. The British Journal of Politics and International Relations, 18(3), 581–598.
- بیدالله خانی، آرش، کهرازه، یاسر (1397). دیپلماسی سلبریتی و جذابیت و ساده سازی سیاست بین الملل در ادراک عامه، فصلنامه علمی تحقیقات سیاسی و بین المللی، 10(37), 69-84.
Archer, A., Cawston, A., Matheson, B., & Geuskens, M. (2020). Celebrity, Democracy, and Epistemic Power. Perspectives on Politics, 18(1), 27-42. P 37
. West, Darrell M. and John Orman. 2002. CelebrityPolitics. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. P6
Gamson, Joshua. (1994). Claims to Fame: Celebrity in Contemporary America. Berkeley CA: University of California Press. P4
-Drezner, D.W. (2007) ‘Foreign Policy Goes Glam’, The National Interest, Nov/Dec, 22–8.
- Majic, S., O’Neill, D., & Bernhard, M. (2020). Celebrity and Politics. Perspectives on Politics, 18(1), 1-8. P 3-4
Driessens, Oliver. (2012) “The Celebritization of Society And Culture: Understanding The Structural Dynamics Of Celebrity Culture”. International Journal of Cultural Studies, 16(6), 641-657. P643
Ashurovich, Karimov. (2020). The Usage Of Politainment On Modern TV Channels. The American Journal of Social Science and Education Innovations. 02. 361-365. P363
- Bittner, Amanda. (2021). The Personalization of Politics in Anglo-American Democracies. Frontiers in Political Science. 3. P 2.
- کاستلز، مانوئل( 1398). قدرت ارتباطات، چاپ دوم، تهران: انتشارت علمی و فرهنگی. ص 390-391
. Manning, Nathan & Penfold-Mounce, Ruth & Loader, Brian & Vromen, Ariadne & Xenos, Michael. (2016) “Politicians, Celebrities and Social Media: A case of informalization?”Journal of Youth Studies. P 4-8.
- Gerston, Larry. (2015). Public Policy Making: Process and Principles. 3rd ed. New York: Routledge. P 4
. Harvey, Mark.( 2017). Celebrity Influence: Politics, Persuasion, and Issue-Based Advocacy. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas.p81
. Nownes, A. J. (2021). Can Celebrities Set the Agenda? Political Research Quarterly, 74(1), 117–130. 120-121
Postman, N. (2016). Amusing Ourselves to Death [20th anniversary ed], Penguin Publishing Group.p135
Meyer, T. (2002).Media Democracy: How the Media Colonise Politics.Cambridge: Polity. P79
.کروتی، دیوید و ویلیام هوینس (1391). رسانه و جامعه: صنایع، تصاویر و مخاطبان، تهران: انتشارات دانشگاه امام صادق.ص286
- Rahat, Gideon; Kenig, Ofer.(2018). From Party Politics to Personalized Politics?: Party Change and Political Personalization in Democracies, Oxford University Press. P115
- Karremans, Johannes & Lefkofridi, Zoe. (2020). Responsive versus responsible? Party democracy in times of crisis. Party Politics. 26. 271-279. P 273-274
- Heidar, Knut Bram Wauters.(2019). Do Parties Still Represent?: An Analysis of the Representativeness of Political Parties in Western Democracies, Routledge.p12

. نش، کیت (1399). جامعه‌شناسی سیاسی معاصر: جهانی‌شدن، سیاست و قدرت، ترجمه: محمدتقی دل‌فروز، چاپ سیزدهم، تهران: کویر. ص251-255
- Street, John. ( 2004) Celebrity Politicians: Popular Culture and Political Representation. The British Journal of Politics and International Relations.;6(4):435-452. P 437-438