Culture of political discussion: genesis of social and political views

The paper discusses the historical backgrounds to the views on the term ‘culture of political discussion’ based on classic works from ancient times to the present day. The conceptualization of the term is proposed, and the aspects of this specific type of political communication are highlighted. Having analyzed the works of philosophers, political scientists, and sociologists, the author notes that there is little Russian and international research on relevant concepts. The key trends in the development of ideas about political discussion (i.e. social communication technology of public administration and discussion on the acquisition and implementation of power) and its culture are associated with the instrumentalization, technologization, and democratization of such a form of political dialog. The research elaborates on the characteristics, ethics, focus, meaning and forms of political discussion in different cultures and historical epochs in the context of the modern ICT distribution, in particular the Internet. The author concludes that, nowadays, discussion is a tool of public administration and civic engagement, a social communication technology of soft power, a soft method to coordinate interests of social groups within political relationships.