Conflict,“commun-Ication” and the Role of Collective Action In the Formation of Public Spheres (original) (raw)

Publicness beyond the public sphere

Mediapolis, nº14, 2022

This paper contends the public sphere is a restrictive approach to public action. Despite the dysphoric development of the public sphere in post-modern societies, public action and communicative activity can easily be discerned if one recognizes that rational-critical deliberation is not the exclusive means to exercise it. I propose to separate what is an historical and idealized construct – the public sphere – from the socio-anthropological principle -publicness. The former consubstantiates a specific normative principle of legitimate political decision-making, as well as a peculiar space of communication and an ensemble of specific publics. The latter cannot be reduced to the strict formulation of the public sphere. Publicness is, first of all, a matter of cohesion and consensus on values in a society, reached through a communicative process that occurs in almost every social interaction. It does not absolutely depend on a capital Public or on a public sphere model to emerge and be felt by all members of a society. By tracing a brief panorama in the three main models of the public sphere (Habermas, Arendt, Negt & Kluge’s models), the paper suggests going beyond the public sphere by envisioning publicness as a socio-anthropological principle characterized as being an empirical reality, as being pre-political and pre-institutional, as well as a process linked to social imaginaries.

Two stages of the theory of the public sphere

This short essay focuses on the question of transnationalizing the public sphere by elaborating Nancy Fraser's critique of the theory of the public sphere from Westphalian to Postwestphalian age. In part 1, I will sketch Habermas's account of the public sphere and elaborate Nancy Fraser's revision and development of it in Westphalian age. By relating social equality to participatory parity and making a distinction between weak and strong publics, Fraser develops the emancipatory force of the public-sphere theory according to its own principles. In part 2, I am going to articulate Fraser's academic efforts to salvage the critical and democratic force of the theory of public sphere in Postwestphalian age by interpreting inclusiveness condition and efficacy condition and point out its existing social preconditions. In part 3, I will try to respond to the deepening crisis of the public-sphere theory.

On the Degeneration of the Public Sphere

Political Studies, 1985

The paper interprets C. Wright Mills's distinction between 'private troubles' and 'public issues' as indicating both a conceptual and an institutional separation between civil society and the public sphere. It goes on to argue that Habermas's social theory is founded upon the view that 'distorted communication' should be analysed within an already institutionalized public space within civil society. Arguments that claim that the public sphere is degenerate on historical or theoretical grounds are rejected. The paper differentiates between pre-institutional and institutional levels of the public sphere and concludes by illustrating this conceptual distinction, first, through a brief discussion of 'new social movements' and Alain Touraine's actionist sociology, and secondly, through a discussion of natural justice and public inquiries.

The Resurgence of the Critical Theories of Public Sphere

The challenge of the dominant discourses on &dquo;public&dquo; and &dquo;public sphere&dquo; as well as on &dquo;private&dquo; and &dquo;non-political&dquo; is a practical necessity of any radical political initiative. In recent decades, some of the most significant contributions of the Critical Theory of the Frankfurt School have been centered on the notion of &dquo;public sphere&dquo; (Offentlichkeit). Habermas' and Negt and Kluge's theories of public sphere have recently aroused widening interest in the English speaking world. This article critically assesses their established theories as well as their tentative new interventions on this topic.

Counter public spheres and global modernity

JAVNOST-LJUBLJANA-, 2003

In the last thirty years capitalism has gone through a major transition that has seen the intensification of globalisation, the rise of neo-liberalism and the New Right, the decline of trust and of social democracy, a process of de-traditionalisation, and the rise of new social movements. These changes have profound implications for the nature and functioning of the public sphere . In this paper we argue that the public sphere has been shaken substantially by these shifts opening up increasing possibilities in the process for counter public spheres to become established and flourish. We trace the development of the concept of the public sphere post 1989 that includes crucial and too often ignored revisions to the original Habermasian thesis. We argue that counter public spheres become established in periods of instability in the dominant public sphere.

The Theory of Public Sphere: an Analysis and Critique of the Habermasian Model

This paper attempts a critical discussion on the Habermasian model of Public sphere. The concept of the public sphere has become a key term in social science literature since it was introduced by German scholar Jurgen Habermas as a philosophically and sociologically pertinent concept. The public sphere refers to the discursive space that exists in modern societies between the state and society. It deals with a domain that is generally related to civil society, but goes beyond it to refer to the wider category of the public. The public sphere comes into existence with the formation of civil society and the forms of associational politics to which it led. However, Habermasian model, although widely praised and accepted by many, is not without its criticisms. The second section of the paper makes an effort to bring together some of the major criticisms of the model as postulated mainly by feminist scholars.

Public Sphere Reconsidered Theories and Practices

livroslabcom.ubi.pt, 2011

ublic Sphere Reconsidered: theories and practices is a book that compiles two-day conference, which took place on 19 and 20 May 2011 at University of Beira Interior in Covilhã, Portugal, where the concept of public sphere was analyzed and debated by international recognized experts and researchers from around the world. From the most exciting texts about the idea of public sphere to the relations between journalism, ICTs, rhetoric and public sphere, this book presents texts with a cross-disciplinary approach and a comparative methodology regarding different related issues and new tools of communication. Public Sphere Reconsidered: theories and practices will be useful to students in media and communication studies, and European studies, as well as for those studying sociology and political science. - See more at: http://www.livroslabcom.ubi.pt/book/84#sthash.VN4xIkaY.dpuf