Abstract
For a democracy to function there is the need for healthy argumentative public discourse between the ruled and the rulers. In this case ‘consideration of arguments for and against a policy or idea’ (Schneider, 1997, p. 8) is encouraged as, according to Habermas, public opinion formulation is ‘a grave and serious responsibility’ (Green, 2010, p. 120) that leaders need to adopt in democratic governance. Kelsen (1961) further adds that public opinion is the centrepiece of democracy or, as argued by Barber (1984, p. 171), ‘strong democratic legitimacy … [is anchored on] ongoing talk’. Agre (1989) also argues that dialogue is one of the first obligations of citizenship. It should take place not only in the formal political setting of society but also informally among ordinary citizens in the town halls, traditional media and, of late, new information and communication technologies like the Internet and satellite television. This chapter looks at the practice of deliberative politics in Zimbabwe as mediated through the Internet. This is no easy feat because the contours of Zimbabwe’s political cleavages are intricate and difficult to negotiate for various reasons. What is conspicuous, however, is the intervention of the Internet in political communications in a society where there has been a dearth of ‘ongoing talk’ between the ruling elite and the citizenry in general.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Agre, P. (1989) Why Dialogue. Journal of Philosophy, 86 (1): 5–22.
Alonzo, M. and Milam, A. (2004) Flaming in Electronic Communication. Decision Support Systems, 36 (3): 205–213.
Amory, D. (1997) ‘Homosexuality’ in Africa: Issues and Debates. Issue: A Journal of Opinion, 25 (1): 5–10.
Anderson, Ben (2007)The Politics of Homosexuality in Africa. Africana, 1(1): 123–136.
Barber, B. (1984) Democracy: Participatory Politics for a New Age. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Basch, L., Glick, N. and Szanton, B. (1994) Nations Unbound: Transnational Projects, Postcolonial Predicaments and Deterritorialized Nation-States. Basel: Gordon & Breach.
Benhabib, S. (1996) Toward a Deliberative Model of Democratic Legitimacy. In S. Benhabib (ed.) Democracy and Difference: Contesting the Boundaries of the Political. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 67–94.
Conrad, K. (2001) Queer Treasons: Homosexuality and Irish National Identity. Cultural Studies, 15 (1): 124–137.
Dahlberg, L. (2001) The Habermasian Public Sphere Encounters Cyber-Reality. The Public Sphere, 8 (3): 83–96.
Epprecht, M. (1999) The Gay Oral History Project in Zimbabwe: Black Empowerment, Human Rights, and the Research Process. History in Africa, 26: 25–51.
Freelon, G. (2010) Analysing Online Political Discussion Using Three Models of Democratic Communication. New Media & Society, 12(7): 1172–1190.
Froomkin, M. (2004) Technologies for Democracy. In P. Shane (ed.) Democracy Online: The Prospects for Political Renewal Through the Internet. New York and London: Routledge, 12–15.
Ganley, G. (1992) The Exploding Political Power of Personal Media. Norwood, NJ: Ablex Publishing.
Gimmler, A. (2001) Deliberative Democracy, the Public Sphere and the Internet. Philosophy Social Criticism, 27 (4): 21–39.
Green, L. (2010) The Internet: An Introduction to New Media. New York: Oxford.
Habermas, J. (1989) Burger, T trans. The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Kanu, J. (2010) Zimbabwe: Diaspora — Untapped Growth Zone. Retrieved on 27 October 2011 from http://allafrica.com/stories/201011250083.html.
Kellner, D. (2004) The Media and the Crisis of Democracy in the Age of Bush-2 Communication and Critical/Cultural Studies, 1 (1): 29–58.
Kelsen, H. (1961) General Theory of Law and State. New York: Russell and Russell.
Landau, L. (2008) Drowning in Numbers. In S. Johnston, A. Bernstein and R. de Villiers (eds.) Migration from Zimbabwe: Numbers, Needs, and Policy Options. Johannesburg: Centre for Development and Enterprise, 7–13.
Lyotard, J.F. (1984) The Postmodern Condition: A Report on Knowledge. (Vol. 10). Minnesota: University of Minnesota Press.
Luke, A. (2002) Beyond Science and Ideology Critique: Developments in Critical Discourse Analysis. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 22: 96–110.
Manhando-Makore, S. (2001) Free for All? Myth or Reality? The Case of Zimbabwe’s Media. Media Development, 48 (2): 14–18.
McKee, A. (2005) The Public Sphere: An Introduction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
McNair, B. (1999) An Introduction to Political Communication (2nd edn.). London: Routledge.
Moore, R. (1999) Democracy and Cyberspace. In B. Hague and B. Loarder (ed.) Digital Democracy Discourse and Decision Making in the Information Age. London and New York: Routledge, 39–59.
Papacharissi, Z. (2000) Philadelphia The Virtual Sphere: The Internet as a Public Sphere. New Media and Society, 4 (1): 9–27.
Papacharissi, Z. (2004) Democracy Online: Civility, Politeness, and the Democratic Potential of Online Political Discussion Groups. New Media Society, 6: 259–283
Peel, A. Clayton (2009) Diaspora Ethnicity and Politics in the Electronic Media: Case Studies of United Kingdom-Based Zimbabwean Internet Websites and their Associations. Unpublished PhD dissertation. University of Wales.
Saunders, R. (1999) Dancing Out of Tune: A History of the Media in Zimbabwe. Harare: ESP.
Schneider, S. (1997) Expanding the Public Sphere Through Computer-Mediated Communication: Political Discussion about Abortion in a Usenet Newsgroup. Unpublished PhD dissertation. Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Strandberg, K. (2008) Public Deliberation Goes On-Line? An Analysis of Citizens Political Discussions on the Internet Prior to the Finnish Parliamentary Elections in 2007. Javnost — The Public, 15 (1): 71–90.
Tevera, D. (2008) Perspectives on the Brain Drain. In Sandy Johnston, Ann Bernstein and Riaan de Villiers (eds.) Migration from Zimbabwe: Numbers, Needs, and Policy Options. Johannesburg: Centre for Development and Enterprise, 19–22.
Valadez, J. (2001) Deliberative Democracy, Political Legitimacy, and Self-Determination in Multicultural Societies. Oxford: Westview Press.
Walzer, M. (1995) Towards a Global Civil Society. Providence: Berghahn Books.
Wang, J. (2010) A Critical Discourse Analysis of Barack Obama’s Speeches. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 1 (3): 254–261.
Wilhelm, A. (1999) Virtual Sounding Boards: How Deliberative Is Online Political Discussion? In B. Hague and B. Loader (eds.) Digital Democracy: Discourse and Decision Making in the Information Age. London: Routledge, 154–178.
Yin, R. (1984) Case Study Research: Design and Methods. Beverly Hills: Sage Publications.
Young, I. (2001) Activist Challenges to Deliberative Democracy. Political Theory, 29 (5): 670–690.
Zainal, Z. (2007) Case Study as a Research Method. Jurnal Kemanusiaan, 9: 1–6.
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 2015 Shepherd Mpofu
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Mpofu, S. (2015). Transnational Public Spheres and Deliberative Politics in Zimbabwe: An Analysis of NewZimbabwe. In: Ogunyemi, O. (eds) Journalism, Audiences and Diaspora. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137457233_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137457233_3
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-49863-5
Online ISBN: 978-1-137-45723-3
eBook Packages: Palgrave Media & Culture CollectionLiterature, Cultural and Media Studies (R0)