ABSTRACT
Chapter 4 continues the focus on agency and political participation by exploring the realm of inner subjectivity as it relates to internal thinking or deliberation about politics. Drawing on what Margaret Archer calls the ‘internal conversation’, I critically evaluate and adapt Archer’s development of the concept to extend it to explore the internal political conversation. I develop my understanding of the internal political conversation along Bourdieusian lines to address certain shortcomings – specifically the overly purposive nature of Archer’s internal conversation, as well as the neglect of the unconscious in Archer’s formulation of the concept. The core argument of this chapter is that the internal realm is distinct from external talk about politics, although it may affect external talk. I argue that the internal political conversation has the potential to significantly enhance the reach and scope of our understanding of how people engage in political deliberations; how they mull over the things they care or feel strongly about; and how they make sense of their own political behaviour in relation to the world around them.
