Abstract
As outlined above, the present study departs from Habermas’s definition of the public sphere in several ways. His assumptions about the class character of the early modern public sphere, for example, are not particularly relevant for the purpose of this study, nor is his account of the decline of the public sphere or his focus on the public sphere as a socio-cultural basis for rational communicative action in the narrow sense. Complemented by a more contemporary perspective on the meaning and practice of democracy (which takes into account the prominent role of the mass media), the concept nevertheless constitutes a useful tool to approach the relevance of communication for the democratic development of the EU.1
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 2013 Leonard Novy
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Novy, L. (2013). The European Public Sphere. In: Britain and Germany Imagining the Future of Europe. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137326072_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137326072_3
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-45963-6
Online ISBN: 978-1-137-32607-2
eBook Packages: Palgrave Social Sciences CollectionSocial Sciences (R0)