New Frontiers in Political Professionalism

Developments in telecommunications (e.g., television, computers, the Internet) and other technologies, combined with accelerating processes of social change, have fundamentally altered the character of political parties and government. These fundamental changes are seen in the ascendancy of a new form of political professionalthe technical expert who sells his or her services on the open market - at the heart of decision making within political parties and even government itself. Although the forms and extent of change vary from country to country, they are fueled by processes that are globalizing and homogenizing. The results of processes of global change have been to make political parties into "communication machines" designed to manipulate voters, to make political decision making a communication strategy, and to make politics increasingly subject to the steady advance of the new political professionalism.