Published
Nov 23, 2023Page count
263 pagesISBN
978-1529234350Dimensions
234 x 156 mmImprint
Bristol University PressPublished
Nov 23, 2023Page count
263 pagesISBN
978-1529234367Dimensions
234 x 156 mmImprint
Bristol University PressPublished
Nov 23, 2023Page count
263 pagesISBN
978-1529234367Dimensions
234 x 156 mmImprint
Bristol University Press
Democracy and the Public Sphere
From fake news to infringement of privacy in digital spheres, the changing landscapes of media and public communication have completely transformed contemporary democracies in recent decades.
Disruptions of media functioning can be seen as evidence for a transition from democracy to post-democracy, but how plausible is this scenario? Using empirical evidence, the author asks how imminent the threat of the end of democracy is, and how it can be restored.
Exploring the creative and destructive ways individuals and groups make use of new digital and social media in democratic societies across the world, the book presents a much-needed critical theory of the public sphere as we enter the new digital age.
"By a scholar with the rare gift of creatively handling both theorizations of the public sphere and empirical investigations of future, current or historical developments in democracy studies, this very readable and enlightening work is a must-read for intellectually and politically curious readers." Jostein Gripsrud, University of Bergen
Hans-Jörg Trenz is Professor of Sociology of Culture and Communication at Scuola Normale Superiore in Italy.
1. Introduction: Vanishing Publics – The Erosion of Democracy and the Public Sphere
2. The Legacy and the Future of the Public Sphere
3. Public Sphere Dystopia: A Diagnosis
4. Between Dystopia and Utopia: The Social and Political Field of Public Sphere Criticism
5. Does All This Really Happen? The Experimental Setting of Public Sphere Resilience
6. Conclusion: Beyond Post-democracy
