The introductory contribution to this special issue on “Political Theory of the Digital Constellation” addresses the conditions and possibilities of political theory’s engagement with digital developments. The motivation for this inquiry is the growing interest in questions of political theory arising from the digital transformation, as well as the acknowledgement that digitalisation not only changes politics, but conversely that politics also shapes digitalisation. The article identifies three pitfalls of previous engagement: The narrowing of the subject of “digitalisation” to the topic of the “internet” and, thereby, to the aspect of communication, the disregard for the technicality of the digital, and the insufficient recognition that (digital) technology is political. To avoid these pitfalls, the research perspective of the digital constellation is presented. The digital constellation serves as an epistemological guide that helps to structure theoretical reflection on the interrelationship between digitalisation and political questions. Ultimately, the outlines of the political theory in the digital constellation become clear in the fourteen contributions of the special volume, which are presented in conclusion.

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ZusammenfassungMit der Digitalisierung entstehen Ausdrucks- und Organisationsformen von Protest, die das Verständnis von politischer Mobilisierung herausfordern. Über Instant-Messaging, soziale Medien und alternative Plattformen bildet sich ein Eigenleben des digitalen Aktivismus heraus, das auch das Protestgeschehen auf der Straße beeinflusst. In der Sozialen Bewegungsforschung lösten die Ausdifferenzierung des digitalen Aktivismus und die komplexen Interaktionen zwischen Online- und Offlineprotest neue Debatten aus. Dieser Beitrag schlägt eine Systematisierung des Wissens zu digitalem Aktivismus vor, indem aus den Medienpraktiken der Aktivist*innen fünf Varianten vorgestellt und im Kontext jener digitalen Infrastrukturen diskutiert werden, auf die sie zurückgreifen.

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The introduction of this special issue elaborates a research perspective on the meaning and function of political protest in the context of democratic orders. Starting from the consideration that protest and democratic orders form a close interrelationship, we ask how and to what extent democracy is imagined, negotiated, and problematized within protest, and how democratic orders and politics shape the formation of protest. To this end, we argue for a combination of Democratic Theory and Social Movement Studies. Interweaving these two traditions allows for empirically saturated and theoretically sound interpretations of recent episodes of contention. With this research perspective, we not only gain a deeper understanding of protest dynamics, but also of contemporary social and political transformations within modern democratic societies.