Democratic politics and communication: rape with consent

Media and their professionals are often blamed for the declining of democratic quality and for political malaise. Yet media and communication practitioners affirm their function as transmitters of serious failures in institutional working and in political elite practices. This article takes into account recent academic work on this issue and focuses not only on the media external influence, but on the inner changes that democratic politics itself has gone through in parallel to changes in communication ways and techniques. These changes impact on the political process, its institutional framework and the policies it produces, weakening the legitimacy of the system and of its outcomes. The article also tries to answer whether internet political use can make a switch to a new and better situation. Finally, some proposals are put forward in order to give back to citizens a more active role in democratic politics. Adapted from the source document.