Participatory Communication for Social Change: The Relevance of the Theory of Communicative Action

Abstract

Communication for social change refers to an approach to development communication disassociated from the tradition of modernization theory and focuses on participatory communication. However, the literature on participatory communication for social change contains a variety of definitions specifying exactly what participatory communication is. Various definitions focus on project planning, implementation, evaluation, interpersonal communication, radio, participatory communication as a means to an end, participatory communication as an end in itself, and more. There is also debate over whether social marketing and entertainment-education can be employed in a participatory manner. This chapter reviews past and current approaches, arguing that Habermas’s theory of communicative action provides a useful approach to the definitional problem. It presents a scheme for differentiating among kinds of communication for social change using this theory’s classification of action types, differentiating communicative from strategic action, as well as subtypes within these. Rather than a school of thought or program type, the theory of communicative action argues that communication behavior—in terms of action types— should be fundamental in determining participation.