The Case for ‘Everyday Politics’: Evaluating Neo-tribal Theory as a Way to Understand Alternative Forms of Political Participation, Using Electronic Dance Music Culture as an Example

Abstract

This article argues that youth cultural leisure and consumption practices have the potential to be sites for alternative political participation, an ‘everyday politics’ that involves a personalizing of politics and an ‘aloof ’ stance regarding official institutions. Drawing on the work of Harris (2001) and Maffesoli (1996), the article outlines the lenses that make up ‘everyday politics’, namely ‘sociality and proxemics’, ‘solidarity and belonging’, ‘hedonism’, ‘vitality and puissance’, and ‘sovereignty over one’s own existence’; empirically examining these lenses using qualitative data from a project on participating in electronic dance culture (clubbing, raving, partying). The article suggests that everyday politics is a useful concept in understanding alternative forms of political activism and calls for broader definitions of political participation, including those that do not have a social change agenda. The need for future work in theorizing and empirically examining how everyday and traditional political activities interact is highlighted.