Public Sphere in the Digital Age

2019 ◽  
pp. 51-78
Author(s):  
Pauline Pooi Yin Leong
Keyword(s):  
Public Sphere ◽  
Digital Age

Digital Humour, Gag Laws, and the Liberal Security State

2017 ◽  
pp. 204-221 ◽  
Author(s):  
Judith Bessant
Keyword(s):  
Public Sphere ◽  
Political Theory ◽  
Digital Media ◽  
Digital Age ◽  
Political Dissent ◽  
The Public ◽  
On Line ◽  
Artistic Work ◽  
The Public Sphere

This chapter presents a case study of Facu Diaz, a Spanish satirist whose on-line ridicule of the Spanish government created a political furor that brought him before the courts. The chapter engages the problem of the criminalization of political dissent by liberal states in the digital age. The case highlights how digital media is now being used to create content for satire, as well as to replicate and infiltrate more traditional political and media forums, changing many traditional forms of political practice. The case [points to some of the central problems inherent in liberalism which may give reason to curb the enthusiasm of those who think that new digital media creates fresh opportunities for augmenting the ‘public sphere'. It is argued that liberalism as a political theory and ethos, tends to be blind to non-traditional political expressions like satire and other artistic work. In addition, the expansion of security laws in many countries suggests, liberalism's ostensible commitment to freedom needs to be reframed by recalling its historical preoccupation with security.

scholarly journals Visibility in the digital age: Introduction

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Cornelia Brantner ◽  
Helena Stehle
Keyword(s):  
Public Sphere ◽  
Digital Age ◽  
Self Determination ◽  
Internet Governance ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
The Right ◽  
Key Aspects ◽  
Privacy And Confidentiality ◽  
Scientific Debates

In the digital age, calls for transparency and openness as well as for privacy and confidentiality prevail: Struggles for visibility occur simultaneously with conflicts regarding invisibility and hidden battles for power and privileges of interpretation. Concerns about a loss of digital self-determination exist, just like those regarding the “right to be forgotten” or the right to become invisible and unseen. While the idea of a “transparent user” – as the ultimate notion of (in)voluntary visibility – has caused a broad outcry in society and in scientific debates a few years ago (Palfrey & Gasser, 2008), the discussion has shifted toward considerations of Internet governance and regulation (Camenisch, Fischer-Hübner, & Hansen, 2015). Brighenti (2010, p. 109) has pointed out that visibility has long been one of the key aspects “associated with the public sphere” and that in today’s digitized publics, the “project of democracy can no longer be imagined without taking into account visibility and its outcomes” (Brighenti, 2010, p. 189). Visibility and invisibility, along with their societal outcomes, are increasingly being discussed and analyzed, as they are becoming important dimensions in the accurate description and explanation of digital communication.

scholarly journals DRAG THEM: A brief etymology of so-called “cancel culture”

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 88-92 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meredith D. Clark
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Public Sphere ◽  
Social Problems ◽  
Moral Panic ◽  
Digital Age ◽  
Media Activism ◽  
Black Vernacular ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Elites

The term “cancel culture” has significant implications for defining discourses of digital and social media activism. In this essay, I briefly interrogate the evolution of digital accountability praxis as performed by Black Twitter, a meta-network of culturally linked communities online. I trace the practice of the social media callout from its roots in Black vernacular tradition to its misappropriation in the digital age by social elites, arguing that the application of useful anger by minoritized people and groups has been effectively harnessed in social media spaces as a strategy for networked framing of extant social problems. This strategy is challenged, however, by the dominant culture’s ability to narrativize the process of being “canceled” as a moral panic with the potential to upset the concept of a limited public sphere.

Digital Humour, Gag Laws, and the Liberal Security State

2018 ◽  
pp. 1345-1358
Author(s):  
Judith Bessant
Keyword(s):  
Public Sphere ◽  
Political Theory ◽  
Digital Media ◽  
Digital Age ◽  
Political Dissent ◽  
The Public ◽  
On Line ◽  
Artistic Work ◽  
The Public Sphere

This chapter presents a case study of Facu Diaz, a Spanish satirist whose on-line ridicule of the Spanish government created a political furor that brought him before the courts. The chapter engages the problem of the criminalization of political dissent by liberal states in the digital age. The case highlights how digital media is now being used to create content for satire, as well as to replicate and infiltrate more traditional political and media forums, changing many traditional forms of political practice. The case [points to some of the central problems inherent in liberalism which may give reason to curb the enthusiasm of those who think that new digital media creates fresh opportunities for augmenting the ‘public sphere'. It is argued that liberalism as a political theory and ethos, tends to be blind to non-traditional political expressions like satire and other artistic work. In addition, the expansion of security laws in many countries suggests, liberalism's ostensible commitment to freedom needs to be reframed by recalling its historical preoccupation with security.

Film Criticism in Germany Today: A Report on Practice

2020 ◽  
Vol 47 (3) ◽  
pp. 59-71
Author(s):  
Claudia Lenssen
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Public Sphere ◽  
Digital Age ◽  
Film Criticism ◽  
Traditional Media ◽  
The Public ◽  
Social Unity ◽  
The Media ◽  
Market Driven ◽  
The Public Sphere

Abstract As traditional media in Germany have lost their relevance in the digital age, so has the perpetually embattled authority of film criticism diminished. The article addresses current debates about the state of criticism while critics are confronting the collapse of the media having traditionally defined their work. What does it mean that writing on film is supposed to function as the “taste tester for cultural gastronomy” (Wolfram Schütte)? Do social media marginalize critical expertise? How does film criticism work under the omen of changing concepts of the public sphere? The article discusses the prospects of film criticism “at a time when the architectonic, mythic, and social unity of film is no longer self-evident and has ceased to function hegemonically” (Georg Seeßlen). What does it mean that “writing about the audiovisual must change” and young film critics open up spaces to win back film criticism as a counterbalance to market-driven film policies?

Can realism save us from populism? Rousseau in the digital age

2020 ◽  
pp. 147488512090692
Author(s):  
Ilaria Cozzaglio
Keyword(s):  
Public Sphere ◽  
Direct Democracy ◽  
Digital Age ◽  
Political Realism ◽  
Ideology Critique ◽  
The Real ◽  
The Public ◽  
The People ◽  
The Public Sphere

In 2016, the Five Stars Movement (5SM), one of the parties currently in power in Italy, launched the ‘Rousseau platform’. This is a platform meant to enhance direct democracy, transparency and the real participation of the people in the making of laws, policies and political proposals. Although ennobled with the name of Rousseau, the 5SM’s redemptive promise has been strongly criticised in the public sphere for being irresponsible and ideological. Political realism, I will argue, can perform both a diagnostic and a corrective task, by providing some tools to unveil populist distortions and by offering more solid grounds for political opponents’ critique. Three aspects of realism, in particular, will be pointed out as remedies against populist drifts. First, anti-moralism, complemented by anti-utopianism and contextualism, criticises the populists’ moralistic picture of politics, its anti-pluralistic attitude and its rejection of the role of experts in politics. Second, the Weberian ethic of responsibility offers standards to assess politicians’ actions, instead of embracing the populist aversion towards any professional politician; besides, it contrasts the populist image of politics as a derogatory activity. Finally, realism as ideology critique unveils the distorting narratives underlying populist propaganda and fostering uncritical support.

ESCR Review

2020 ◽  
pp. 449-470
Author(s):  
Simeon J. Yates ◽  
Bridgette Wessels ◽  
Paul Hepburn ◽  
Alexander Frame ◽  
Vishanth Weerakkody
Keyword(s):  
Public Sphere ◽  
Hate Crime ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Digital Age ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Partisan Politics ◽  
Research Directions ◽  
Time Period ◽  
Future Research Directions ◽  
Use Of The Internet

This chapter describes the analyses and results for the ESRC Domain of Citizenship and Politics, guided by two main questions: How digital technology impacts on our autonomy, agency, and privacy; Whether and how our understanding of citizenship is evolving in the digital age. It first provides an initial overview of the major insights from the literature review and analysis, the Delphi surveys, and workshop discussions about the relevant range of the concepts of citizenship and politics in a digital age. Over time the literature shows a shift from issues of public sphere and use of the Internet by government and candidates to more focus on political participation and engagement, especially through online communities, social networks, and social media. Eight main topics emerged: public sphere, measurement, social network analysis, protest and activism, governance, elections, cyber hate crime, and partisan politics. The analyses also highlighted theory, methods, and approaches in the literature. The review provides examples of literature in the project’s time period that illustrate these topics. The chapter ends with a discussion of considerable future research directions (e.g., mobilization and radicalization) and research challenges (e.g., managing big data, and ethical issues).

The Specter of Chinese Interference

2021 ◽  
pp. 117-138
Author(s):  
Arun Mohan Sukumar ◽  
Akhil Deo
Keyword(s):  
Public Sphere ◽  
National Security ◽  
Digital Age

This chapter offers a framework for scholars and policymakers to analyze China’s influence operations focused on India’s political and electoral processes. By analyzing recent evolutions in China’s approach to disinformation, the unique characteristics of India’s digital public sphere, the proliferation and dominance of Chinese apps in India, and tensions in the Sino-Indian relationship, the chapter argues that China has multiple levers to interfere in India’s elections and has shown an increasing willingness to exercise them elsewhere. Although evidence is scarce that China has already done so, the chapter calls for heightened scrutiny from India’s local and federal governments, national security apparatus, technology companies, international watchdogs, and other actors tracking the resilience of democratic processes in the digital age.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document