Democratization of society and development of information and communication technologies in the Internet era make it relevant to consider communication aspects as the basis for the legitimacy of modern power. Communication makes possible the political participation of citizens in making a number of political decisions, and the use of digital platforms allows to expand the number of people involved in such processes. The purpose of this article is to conceptualize communication as the basis for the legitimacy of modern power in the information society based on the analysis of the works of representatives of neo- (Julius Habermas) and post-Marxism (M. Castells). The article analyzes the main works of J. Habermas and M. Castells related to the problems of modern power relations, among which it is appropriate to mention “Theory of Communicative Activity”, “Moral Consciousness and Communicative Action”, “Post-National Constellation and the Future of Democracy”, “The Power of Communication”, “The Internet Galaxy”, “The Power of Identity”. The study is theoretical in nature. The work uses a systematic approach that allows for a critical analysis of the concepts of power of the representatives of renewed Marxism, general scientific methods of analysis and synthesis, as well as a comparative method. An analysis of the works of J. Habermas allows us to assert that communication both within society and between society and power is becoming an important basis for legitimacy in modern conditions. However, this is not only formal codified communication, but also communication both among the population and between the population and officials, which can be legitimized by shared moral standards. M. Castells goes beyond physical interaction, assigning great importance to online communication between society and power. However, it is the network, according to the scientist, that threatens the legitimacy of power in a modern nation state. Modern theoretical sociology and political science brings to the agenda issues of conceptualizing the legitimacy of power in the context of deglobalization at the level of world-renowned scientists.

Democratization of society and development of information and communication technologies in the Internet era make it relevant to consider communication aspects as the basis for the legitimacy of modern power. Communication makes possible the political participation of citizens in making a number of political decisions, and the use of digital platforms allows to expand the number of people involved in such processes. The purpose of this article is to conceptualize communication as the basis for the legitimacy of modern power in the information society based on the analysis of the works of representatives of neo- (Julius Habermas) and post-Marxism (M. Castells). The article analyzes the main works of J. Habermas and M. Castells related to the problems of modern power relations, among which it is appropriate to mention “Theory of Communicative Activity”, “Moral Consciousness and Communicative Action”, “Post-National Constellation and the Future of Democracy”, “The Power of Communication”, “The Internet Galaxy”, “The Power of Identity”. The study is theoretical in nature. The work uses a systematic approach that allows for a critical analysis of the concepts of power of the representatives of renewed Marxism, general scientific methods of analysis and synthesis, as well as a comparative method. An analysis of the works of J. Habermas allows us to assert that communication both within society and between society and power is becoming an important basis for legitimacy in modern conditions. However, this is not only formal codified communication, but also communication both among the population and between the population and officials, which can be legitimized by shared moral standards. M. Castells goes beyond physical interaction, assigning great importance to online communication between society and power. However, it is the network, according to the scientist, that threatens the legitimacy of power in a modern nation state. Modern theoretical sociology and political science brings to the agenda issues of conceptualizing the legitimacy of power in the context of deglobalization at the level of world-renowned scientists.