Communicative Interaction Features of Actors in  the Political Sphere:  the Russian-Speaking Segment of Facebook

Maria Pilgun and Galina Gradoselskaya

National Research University Higher School of Economics 20 Myasnitskaya Ulitsa, Moscow 101000, Russia

DOI : http://dx.doi.org/10.13005/bbra/1970

ABSTRACT: This  article presents the results of studies of the communicative interaction of actors in the political sphere in the Russian segment of Facebook. Posts of politically active groups (N 200) and individual actors (N 291) served as an empirical base, which was updated between  January and May 2014. Communicative situation of interaction of politically active actors of the formal-govermental, oppositional and nationalist clusters in the Russian segment of the Facebook social network can be defined as conflictual.  Participants of communication consider opponents not as sovereign personality with a certain political and axiological paradigm, but as an object of political opposition. They deny the possibility of finding common basic positions and dialogue. In order to justify the refusal of constructive communication an "enemy image” is created, which is impossible and unworthy to engage in dialogue and try to find a consensus. Thus, social tension increases, degree of social aggression is going up, while the distrust and hatred is heated. Reducing level of aggression can only be possible if actors stop using manipulative strategies, and revive the ability and willingness to use technologies of dialogue by all sides of interaction in the information space.

KEYWORDS: analysis of social networks; Facebook; political communication

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