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Javnost - The Public, Vol. 33 - 2026, No. 1
Beyond Political Communication in Freefall – Where are We Now?
A decade and a half after “Political Communication in Freefall” (Blumler & Coleman), this article asks where the crisis of civic-democratic political communication now stands. It argues that the problem is no longer an unanchored system in freefall but a more organised and consequential shift in the normative foundations of public discourse: political illiberalism has gained legitimacy, while core liberal-democratic norms of publicity—equal respect for voices, reason-giving, truth-testing, and openness to plural narratives—have weakened. Framed as a Weberian legitimation conflict, the article examines how antagonistic value-sets contend over what counts as acceptable public controversy, who must justify claims, and which voices can be excluded without scandal. The British case (2016–2026) is used as a critical illustra- tion: Brexit-era turbulence, rapid turnover of governments, declining turnout, and the rise of Reform UK reveal a democracy characterised by volatility without durable public orientation. The article then analyses the media’s role in this reconfiguration, arguing that elements of mainstream journalism—under structural-economic pressure and intensifying competi- tion—have sometimes contributed to political chaos and illiberal normalisation, includ- ing through game framing, a narrow repertoire of expertise, and a degraded conception of impartiality under bad-faith conditions. Finally, the paper identifies four dimensions through which the new order is legitimated (ironic pragmatism, narrow expertise, hyper-fragmen- tation, and impunity for bad-faith actors) and concludes by calling for “democratic clarity”: a renewed set of normative commitments capable of resisting illiberal drift and rebuilding communicative conditions for democratic agency.