Abstract
In From Voice to Influence, Danielle Allen and Jennifer Light address issues of political participation in the contemporary United States. Technology must be a part of the conversation, but this book does not make technology itself the principal focus. Rather, the editors examine how participation in the political process is changing. Concepts that were once central to a study of politics, such as voting and citizenship, lose relevance in a world where actors who influence the political sphere may neither vote nor be citizens. The editors propose a focus on “civic agency” as a crucible for examining “the activities through which people pursue political efficacy.” The book does not exclusively examine youth engagement in politics, but youth participation is an emphasis. From the very first chapter, Light reminds us of the historical context: Since the founding of the United States, young people have always played an active role in politics, and new technology has always been a part of their participation and disruptive activity.
Three chapters of the text focus on very specific case studies: hip hop as a means of expression for marginalized Black youth, the engagement of queer immigrant activists in the political process, and the reality of political participation in an environment where public and private spheres converge. These are intriguing examinations of youth engagement in political activity.
The final chapters differ from the rest in that they actually advocate for structures for digital political ethics. Noted education scholar Howard Gardner makes an argument for provision of real and virtual common spaces where people can gather to discuss issues. Part of his premise is that participants play different roles at different times. Gardner believes that “disinterested” (which he distinguishes from “lacking interest”) professionals are critical to the process. Some might call these people “objective” professionals, but Gardner accepts that these professionals have predispositions but are capable of putting their personal biases aside. Sometimes, a journalist must be disinterested, while other times, the same person may become an advocate for a cause. Different roles in different spaces. Other chapters advocate for the redesign of political institutions with new media in mind, viewing cosmopolitanism as “equitable self-interest” that motivates the self-interested to be more other-focused, and discuss how new media can be used by ordinary citizens wanting to become effective political participants.
This sentence from the conclusion may best summarize the book’s mission: “We argue that deep knowledge about civic agency and civic relationships, about communication and action, and about how all these are changing is necessary to understand the pathways along which we might pursue [egalitarian participatory democracy].”
Among the many other books published about the Internet and politics, From Voice to Influence must be ranked among the best. A seminal book like Richard Davis’s The Web of Politics was written before either Facebook or YouTube was created. A more recent work such as Andrew Chadwick’s Internet Politics applies a comparative approach and lacks the focus that Allen and Light bring to the topic.
Anthologies are risky publishing endeavors, but From Voice to Influence avoids all the major pitfalls. Some collections suffer from disjointed chapters, written by authors who have little or no interaction and leave out important context. Almost as troublesome, some collections have redundant material. Unlike anthologies made up of conference papers, this book was a collaboration between the authors who met on several occasions to discuss the content and exchange drafts. The authors present contrasting views, and even disagree on some points, but the work feels seamless. Some consistency probably comes from the fact that the editors wrote the introduction and conclusion, and one of the two editors authored or co-authored a third of the chapters.
Another strength of this anthology comes from the credentials and interdisciplinary backgrounds of the authors. The editors are established scholars: Allen is a professor of government and director of the Ethics Center at Harvard; Light is a professor of science, technology, and society at MIT. Every chapter has a senior scholar from the likes of Harvard, MIT, or New York University as author or co-author. They represent complexity theory, history, new media analysis, philosophy, political science, political theory, psychology, and sociology. Readers who likely are not versed in all of these approaches will be challenged to explore the topic from perspectives different from their own.
From Voice to Influence is a valuable resource for anyone interested in the confluence of new media, politics, and civic engagement.