Mary (Molly) Scudder

This special issue examines listening in various political contexts, illuminating its profound role in democratic communication. Listening is not merely a passive act; it expresses, relies on, and alters power. If we understand listening and ignoring to be acts of political power, then it bears asking what a specifically democratic practice of listening entails. The articles included in this special issue enhance our understanding of democracy today by analyzing the antecedents and consequences of political listening. They employ philosophical, observational, and experimental methods to investigate when and how listening takes place, the obstacles to effective listening, and its implications for democratic representation, deliberation, and policymaking. In doing so, they draw much-needed scholarly attention to a pervasive yet underexplored aspect of political communication. The studies in this issue provide systematic accounts of how and why listening matters, particularly during times of democratic stress.