New Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere and Deliberative Politics

English language

Published 2023 by Polity Press.

ISBN:: 978-1-5095-5894-0

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Jürgen Habermas’s book The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere, first published in 1962, has long been recognized as one of the most important works of twentieth-century social thought. Blending philosophy and social history, it offered an account of the public sphere as a domain that mediates between civil society and the state in which citizens could discuss matters of common concern and participate in democratic decision-making through the formation of public opinion. Now, in view of the digital revolution and the resulting crisis of democracy, he returns to this important topic.

In this new book Habermas focuses on digital media, in particular social media, which are increasingly relegating traditional mass media to the background. While the new media initially promised to empower users, this promise is being undermined by their algorithm-steered platform structure that promotes self-enclosed informational ‘bubbles’ and discursive ‘echo chambers’ in which users split into a plurality …

Jürgen Habermas’s book The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere, first published in 1962, has long been recognized as one of the most important works of twentieth-century social thought. Blending philosophy and social history, it offered an account of the public sphere as a domain that mediates between civil society and the state in which citizens could discuss matters of common concern and participate in democratic decision-making through the formation of public opinion. Now, in view of the digital revolution and the resulting crisis of democracy, he returns to this important topic.

In this new book Habermas focuses on digital media, in particular social media, which are increasingly relegating traditional mass media to the background. While the new media initially promised to empower users, this promise is being undermined by their algorithm-steered platform structure that promotes self-enclosed informational ‘bubbles’ and discursive ‘echo chambers’ in which users split into a plurality of pseudo-publics that are largely closed off from one other. Habermas argues that, without appropriate regulation of digital media, this new structural transformation is in danger of hollowing out the institutions through which democracies can shape social and economic processes and address urgent collective problems, ranging from growing social inequality to the climate crisis.

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Tejas Harad reviewed New Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere and Deliberative Politics by Jürgen Habermas

Habermas' theory of public sphere and democracy are intertwined with each other

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In his theory of public sphere, Jürgen Habermas is most concerned about the political public sphere since it plays an important part in his model of deliberative democracy. Habermas's theory of public sphere is likely to be misinterpreted if one doesn't simultaneously pay attention to his theory of democracy. Habermas argues that the empirical content of a constitutional democracy is dependent on the normative values underpinning it. Therefore, he is not a big fan of the binary of the empirical and the normative in his theory of democracy. Habermas gives a key role to the political public sphere, which finds its institutionalization in the traditional news media ecosystem of print, radio and television, in the "deliberative" part of his model of deliberative democracy. Consequently he does not look too favorably at the changes introduced by digital media and especially social media, which has led to the democratization of authorship of …

In his theory of public sphere, Jürgen Habermas is most concerned about the political public sphere since it plays an important part in his model of deliberative democracy. Habermas's theory of public sphere is likely to be misinterpreted if one doesn't simultaneously pay attention to his theory of democracy. Habermas argues that the empirical content of a constitutional democracy is dependent on the normative values underpinning it. Therefore, he is not a big fan of the binary of the empirical and the normative in his theory of democracy. Habermas gives a key role to the political public sphere, which finds its institutionalization in the traditional news media ecosystem of print, radio and television, in the "deliberative" part of his model of deliberative democracy. Consequently he does not look too favorably at the changes introduced by digital media and especially social media, which has led to the democratization of authorship of opinion.