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The Architecture of Political Spaces: Trolls, Digital Media, and Deweyan Democracy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 February 2017

JENNIFER FORESTAL
JENNIFER FORESTAL*
Affiliation:
Stockton University
*
Jennifer Forestal is Assistant Professor, Stockton University, 101 Vera King Farris Drive, Galloway, NJ, 08205–9441 (jennifer.forestal@stockton.edu).
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Abstract

The problem of trolls exemplifies the challenges of building democratic communities in the digital environment of social media. Distinguishing trolls from activists can be difficult; democratic theorists have yet to adequately address how to prevent the former while remaining open to the latter. In this article, I outline a theory of democratic politics that takes space as a central element in shaping democratic interactions. Using the work of John Dewey, I draw out two key characteristics of democratic space: boundedness and flexibility. Using these criteria, I then evaluate Kinja, Gawker Media's commenting platform, both before and after trolls attacked the site in 2014. I find that in altering its boundaries to successfully protect against trolls, Kinja introduced a new problem: a lack of flexibility that continues to affect the possibility for democratic discourse on the platform. I conclude by suggesting how this theory of democratic space might shape future research.

Type
Research Article
Information
American Political Science Review , Volume 111 , Issue 1 , February 2017 , pp. 149 - 161
Copyright
Copyright © American Political Science Association 2017 

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Footnotes

I am grateful to James Farr, Ellen Mutari, Menaka Philips, Chris Sardo, Joel Schlosser, and participants at the Northwestern Political Theory Workshop for their insightful feedback on earlier versions of this article. The article is also much improved thanks to comments from the three anonymous APSR reviewers and the APSR editors.

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