Rituels et communication politique moderne

Abstract

Modern political communication is often assumed to be incompatible with the various features of ritual in traditional societies. This paper shows that traditional practices are too deeply embedded in our conception of public life to be rendered obsolete by the emergence of new channels of political communication. Far from being antinomic, ritual work and the use of media bring about new formats where traditional referents and modern procedures combine with each other. An investigation of local politics in a French "département" (county)l'Yonne, a study of the symbolic dimensions involved in the behaviour of national leaders such as President Mitterand, and, finally, an anthropologically oriented analysis of current rituals of consensus and conflict suggest the following conclusions. Media treatment deeply transforms both the form and content of rituals of conflict. On the other hand it gives a new resilience to consensual rituals whose features it mainly extends or amplifies. Finally, it fosters the emergence of altogether new rites merging communicative strategies with traditional features and religious themes.