The growth of hybrid political actors in the fourth age of political communication

Abstract

This article introduces and explores the concept of ‘hybrid political actors’ (HPAs) and the implications of their rise for contemporary democracy. It argues that the phenomenon is not new but has become increasingly significant amid the digital disruptions of the fourth age of political communication. As explained, professions in the fields of politics and journalism have lost their communication primacy within the political public sphere, while hybridity has simultaneously enabled further boundary blurring between these and other professions. Thus, HPAs have flourished. Four of which are sketched out here are politician-publishers, political pseudo news sites, celebrity-politicians and political flexions. As the piece concludes, the growing influence of such actors challenges democracies in various ways. The recent rise to power of Donald Trump and a number of allied business celebrity-politicians, epitomises these trends and the challenges.