A Stratified and Segmented Citizenry? Identification of Political Milieus and Conditions for their Communicative Integration

Abstract

Integration through public communication is challenged by the parallel tendencies toward the stratification and segmentation of the citizenry. The milieu concept takes up this notion: According to this meso-level approach, basic political orientations and political efficacy are aligned with specific information repertoires and modes of communication. Aggregations of individual data display group-specific patterns of heterogeneous political communication practices. First, this paper aims to characterise milieus within the German citizenry. Based on an online survey (n = 1488) and a hierarchical cluster analysis, we identified 12 distinct milieus. Second, we analyse the status of two citizen-level conditions of political integration. These include overlapping information repertoires and milieu-specific issue agendas. Overall, we argue for using social groups’ lifeworld-specific contexts to explain patterns of political and communicative behaviour. Our typology serves as the basis for future projects on lifeworld-shaped political media use, the processing of media content, and its effects.

KEYWORDS:

• integration
• social heterogeneity
• public sphere
• milieus
• media use

Notes

1 According to Hasebrink and Domeyer (2012, 758), “the media repertoire of a person consists of the entirety of media he or she regularly uses.” Information repertoires are, in turn, those media outlets used by individual citizens for the purpose of political information (Reagan 1996).

2 Low values indicate the respondents’ approval. For example, a value of 1 represents a high level of satisfaction with democracy or a high level intensity of interpersonal communication.

3 An overview of all items’ mean values and standard deviations are attached to this paper (see online appendix).

4 Still, based on our research design we are unable to determine whether such alienated groups use mainstream media merely in order to seek affirmation of their hostile worldviews (hostile media effect).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Raphael Kösters

Raphael Kösters (corresponding author) works as a Research Assistant at the Institute of Social Science at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf. He studied political science and communication studies in Mannheim, Budapest, and Düsseldorf. His main research interests are political communication, political sociology, and media content analyses.

Olaf Jandura

Olaf Jandura holds a Chair of Communication Science and Media Studies focusing on empirical research methods at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf. He also worked as a Research Assistant and Assistant Professor at the Universities of Dresden, Munich, Mainz and Zurich. His main research interests are political communication, media usage, media transitions and research methods.