When politics moved online, most campaigns simply replaced megaphones with microphones. They broadcast messages louder, faster, and in a more polished way, but did not change their main approach. Zohran Mamdani’s campaign in New York took a different path. From the outset, it combined humour and approachability with a clear emphasis on listening as a core political strategy. Beneath the social media posts and videos was a systematic effort to prioritise constituent engagement over self-promotion.

Mamdani’s strategy challenges traditional assumptions about political engagement. Conventional political theory treats campaigns as instruments for persuading voters: candidates speak and the public responds. Mamdani reframed this model by centring listening as the foundation of political action, emphasising sustained attention and direct interaction.

Building political trust through listening

Many politicians approach listening superficially, attending occasional events or meetings without engaging in depth. Mamdani integrated listening into the operational framework of his campaign, treating it as both a methodological and ethical practice. He spent long evenings at tenants’ association meetings, spoke with delivery workers after their shifts, and visited community events in neighborhoods such as Astoria and Jackson Heights. In each case, he allowed people to fully articulate the issues affecting their daily lives, from rent challenges to access to public services.

From a theoretical perspective, this aligns with participatory democracy theory, notably the work of Carole Pateman, who emphasizes the centrality of citizen engagement in democratic legitimacy. Listening in this context is not passive; it is a political act that constructs trust and recognizes citizens’ voices. Habermas’ notion of the public sphere also applies: politics is most effective when citizens are active participants in discourse rather than passive recipients of messages.

Concrete examples illustrate the role of listening in practice. When a group of immigrant renters described repeated issues with housing inspections, Mamdani ensured their story was captured in campaign content, emphasising their voice rather than his commentary. In another instance, he recorded a delivery worker discussing the precarity of gig work, again highlighting the speaker. These actions operationalise relational accountability, a concept in political ethics describing the mutual responsibility between leaders and constituents.

Direct constituent interaction

Beyond public events, Mamdani prioritised direct one-on-one conversations with constituents. This move represents a strategic shift from mass communication to personalised engagement. By meeting individuals in homes, community centers, and local businesses, he created a feedback loop that allowed him to understand nuanced local concerns. Unlike traditional canvassing, which often involves quick surveys or scripted talking points, Mamdani’s approach was relational: he invested time in dialogue rather than data collection alone.

The one-on-one meetings allowed Mamdani to identify patterns and recurring issues that might otherwise be overlooked. For example, multiple conversations with small business owners revealed systemic gaps in municipal licensing processes. This approach echoes Deliberative Democracy theory, particularly the work of James Fishkin and John Dryzek, which emphasises that meaningful political decisions arise from informed, interactive deliberation among citizens rather than from top-down messaging.

Transforming politics in the digital sphere

Mamdani extended the principle of listening into digital spaces. Traditional campaigns treat social media as a broadcast platform; Mamdani treated it as an interactive space. Constituents could comment, ask questions, remix content, and share experiences. The campaign used Instagram Lives, WhatsApp groups, and TikTok snippets to create continuous feedback loops between residents, volunteers, and the candidate.

From a theoretical standpoint, this aligns with Henry Jenkins’ theory of participatory culture, where audiences are co-creators of meaning. It also reflects Manuel Castells’ work on the network society, highlighting how digital platforms reconfigure power relationships by enabling decentralised, peer-to-peer communication. In practical terms, these tools distributed authority: constituents shaped the content and the campaign’s priorities rather than simply consuming messages.

This digital strategy also demonstrates the shift from representation to relation. In traditional models, authority is conferred top-down. Mamdani’s approach positions the candidate as a facilitator, making the campaign a shared act of political knowledge production. The approach operationalises digital deliberation frameworks, where online platforms support collective decision-making and visibility rather than serving purely as marketing tools.

Implications for political practice

Mamdani’s model represents a shift from representation to relation: leaders no longer speak solely for constituents but with them. Authority is generated through sustained engagement rather than volume or media branding. Listening functions as a mechanism for inclusion, enabling communities to define and communicate their own priorities. Digital platforms, under this model, facilitate connection rather than merely broadcasting messages.

This approach highlights broader lessons for political campaigns. Technology alone does not guarantee democratic outcomes; its use must be oriented toward reciprocal visibility and participatory engagement. Leaders who integrate structured listening into campaign strategy – both in-person and digitally – can build trust, enhance accountability, and produce more informed political discourse.

Dr. Yasemin Giritli İnceoğlu is a visiting professor at the Media and Communications Department, London School of Economics.

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