Affiliation:
1. Department of Social Sciences, University of Düsseldorf, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
2. Center for Advanced Internet Studies (CAIS), 44799 Bochum, Germany
Abstract
Abstract
Research on incivility in political communication usually defines uncivil communication as a violation of established norms. Few studies, however, have specified these norms and corroborated them using relevant theoretical concepts. This article aims at strengthening the foundations of incivility research by analytically reconstructing the potential normative expectations of communication participants toward the behavior of others in offline and online political communication. We propose that these expectations can be considered as communication norms, which enable cooperative communication in political debates and conflicts. We use action theory, evolutionary anthropology, and linguistics to propose a norm concept that differentiates five communication norms: an information norm, a modality norm, a process norm, a relation norm, and a context norm. Drawing on these norms, we propose new definitions of incivility and civility. We also provide a comprehensive typology of norm violations that can be used as a heuristic for empirical research.
Funder
Ministry of Culture and Science of the German State of North Rhine-Westphalia
Publisher
Oxford University Press (OUP)
Subject
Linguistics and Language,Language and Linguistics,Communication
Cited by
25 articles.
订阅此论文施引文献
订阅此论文施引文献,注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献,订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献