后真相时代政治传播的理论重建和路径重构

Reformulating the Field of Political Communication in the Post-Truth Era

本文以"后西方、后秩序、后真相"为时代背景,对网络化公共领域、极化、另类空间等近年来西方政治传播领域相继出现的理论和实践进行梳理和分析。作者认为,基于"现代主义"背景提出的诸如议程设置和公共领域等西方经典政治传播理论已不能解释带有后现代主义表征的、反民主、去中心化、碎片化的西方传播现象。政治传播学研究应关注基于"情感化真相"的另类空间,探索其信息传播和组织动员机制,以及其情感元素对向"情感挖掘"演进的民意调查的影响。最后,本文提出推动政治传播的"行省化",引入中国等非西方国家和地区的本土理论和在地经验,从而彻底破除西方中心论,从根本上推动政治传播的理论重建和路径重构。

The ＂post-truth, post-order, and post-west＂ ethos of our time signals a fundamental challenge to many classical theories （e.g. agenda-setting and public sphere theory） in the field of political communication that were built upon the assumption of a coherent public sphere. To illustrate, we trace the development of the networked public sphere theory and explain how it has failed to account for asymmetrical polarization in the cyberspace and the rise of emotion-based alternative spheres. We point future research towards the information diffusion and organizational mechanisms of the alternative spheres and their effect on real-time analysis of public sentiments, and suggest provincialization - introducing theories and practices originated from non-western regions - as a strategy to reformulate the field of political communication.