ABSTRACT
The nature of political participation and the discursive character of political interaction have a deep significance to the understanding of the state of contemporary democracy. In order to fulfill this task, this chapter draws primarily upon the discourse centred concept of society presented by the German philosopher and sociologist Jurgen Habermas. These include communicative and instrumental rationality, the public sphere, the colonisation of the lifeworld, and discourse ethics. The chapter also argues that Habermas' account of the relationship between rationality and discourse provides a framework that enables one to categorise the tendencies to be found in the realm of political participation. Then, the chapter discusses the position of political participation and civil society within Habermas' theoretical framework. Finally, it examines the ways in which the author intends to employ Habermas' work in the remainder of this book.
