PERFORMATIVE GOVERNANCE

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Abstract
This article discusses patterns of interaction among citizens and officials in city commission proceedings. Drawing on Goffman's dramaturgical metaphor, the author examines elements of discourse and action that create interactional inequities and unobtrusive limits to democratic participation in this setting. The proceedings are described as a series of interactional performances geared toward maintaining an atmosphere of public involvement in decisions made by the commission. Techniques of impression management, teamwork, and strategies of conflict containment are employed by commissioners to manage the flow of interaction and mitigate conflicts that emerge among participants during the proceedings. At the same time, an impression of concern for constituents and an atmosphere of constructive public involvement in the commission's decisions is displayed. This constitutes a situation of performative governance—an occasion in which impressions of committed governance are staged and maintained by officials, yet effective inclusion of citizenry in decision making is negligible.