Counterspeech as a form of political participation: an analysis from Hannah Arendt’s perspective

Hate speech psychologically harms its targeted people. It sometimes leads to hate crimes, which threatens social stability and harmony. Counterspeech is a communicative activity refuting hate speech. Scholars disagree on whether counterspeech-making behavior belongs to political participation, and their disagreements influence empirical studies on political participation. This paper uses Hannah Arendt’s conception of politics to investigate the nature of counterspeech-making behavior. It argues that this behavior is a form of political participation because it contains intrinsic political values and politics-oriented instrumental goals. The analysis broadens our knowledge of political participation and deepens our understanding of hate speech and counterspeech.