Media and Communication Research

Media and Communication Research

The Evolution of the Conceptual and Theoretical Meaning of "Political Support" in the West: From Religious Follower to Online Political Fandom

Articles in Press

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
abdolkarim khayami 1
hesamodin ashna 1
mohammad javad Badinfekr 2
1 Associate Professor, Faculty of Islamic Studies, Culture and Communication, Imam Sadiq University
2 PhD candidate in Culture and Communication, Imam Sadeq University
10.22034/mcr.2026.559874.1095
Abstract
This study adopts a genealogical approach, using documentary analysis and historical etymology to trace the transformation of the concept of political support in the West from pre-modern Europe to the age of digital fandoms. It seeks to explain the transition from religious followership to political fandom and to assess its implications for democracy. The findings show that political support has passed through three paradigms of legitimacy: a theological paradigm in pastoral and feudal societies, where support meant absolute obedience and fealty to pastoral power; a legal–rational paradigm during the Enlightenment and the rise of modern political parties, grounded in consent and the social contract; and an affective–spectacular paradigm in the era of media convergence, manifested in political fandom. The study identifies a cyclical pattern in which communication technologies act as the main drivers of change, such that the digital age—despite its modern tools—has reinforced emotionally driven identity-based support, replacing party rationality with emotional capital, personalizing politics, and paving the way for new forms of populism and for the transformation of the citizen into a supporter.
Keywords
Political Support
Political Fandom
Political Loyalty
Partisan
Religious Follower
Media and Communication Research

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 12 May 2026