Introduction: the state of political comedy

Abstract

the articles in this special issue canvas the state of political comedy in the 2020s,with an emphasis on changing political norms and conventions; a shifting media environment and the rise of new media technologies; new forms of aesthetic expression; the function of political humour in different geopolitical contexts; and questions about the efficacy and implication of comedy as a way of doing politics in the current conjuncture. this introduction discusses recent incidents in the USA where comic criticisms have been subject to government interference as indicative of the potential power of political humour in the current conjuncture, and considers how direct conflict with authorities might embolden political comedians. it then argues that the power of political humour has often been theorised in abstract and reductive way