Review Essay: John Erik Fossum and Philip Schlesinger (eds), The European Union and the Public Sphere: A Communicative Space in the Making? London: Routledge, 2007. 312pp. (incl. index), £70.00, US$125.00, ISBN 978 04153 8456 8 (hbk)

2008 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 543-552
Author(s):  
Ib Bondebjerg
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Public Sphere ◽  
Review Essay ◽  
The European Union ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
Communicative Space

scholarly journals European Populism: A Communicative Aspect

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 89
Author(s):  
Gennadiy Chernov
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Public Sphere ◽  
European History ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Communicative Acts ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Media ◽  
Per Se ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
The Eu

This paper deals with the growing populism movement in Europe. This movement is critical of the European Union and its certain economic and immigration policies. The studies dominant in the field look at different communicative aspects of these phenomena. They point at styles and rhetoric related to populism and failures of the pro-EU forces to communicate effectively why these policies are right and populist citizens are wrong.This paper argues that the problem is not in successes or failures of communication per se, but in shutting out many European citizens from the debate in the public sphere. Not finding reflections of the concerns in the media and policies, and having fewer options to relay their messages to elites perceived to be in power in the EU, these citizens become ‘populist citizens’, and they start voting for populist parties in growing numbers.The article concludes that studies of a communicative aspect of populism need not only discuss mediation, but the policies related to this mediation. Policies may be successful only when people accept them after a free debate. That is what was in the heart of the communicative acts in European history.

scholarly journals There’s no such thing as a good Arab: Cultural essentialism and its functions concerning the integration of Arabs in Europe

2018 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 560-576 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luke J Buhagiar ◽  
Gordon Sammut ◽  
Alessia Rochira ◽  
Sergio Salvatore
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Public Sphere ◽  
Social Representations ◽  
The European Union ◽  
The Public ◽  
Communicative Functions ◽  
Temporal Aspects ◽  
Argumentative Strategies ◽  
The Public Sphere

Concerns about immigration are salient in the European Union and in Malta in particular. Previous research has demonstrated deep antipathy towards the Arab community in Malta, and social representations of Arabs are mired in a conflation of ethnic and religious categories with negative connotations. This paper presents evidence of the potency, within the public sphere, of negative arguments from cultural essentialism, concerning the integration of Arabs in Europe. The data were obtained abductively from a data corpus containing positive, mixed and negative arguments about Arabs and their integration. Results pointed towards the almost total exclusivity of arguments from cultural essentialism. These posited Arabic culture as an underlying essence that makes integration difficult or impossible. Different forms of culturally essentialist views varied in their emphasis of different aspects of cultural essentialism. Reductionist, determinist, delineatory and temporal aspects of cultural essentialism were all emphasised by respondents. The essentialist exceptions to negative arguments from cultural essentialism were rare and were posed tentatively by participants. Their paucity and manner of delivery substantiate the claim that it is strictly an Arabic cultural essence that is deemed to make integration impossible. Findings are discussed in light of the communicative functions that these dominant argumentative strategies fulfil.

On Waxen Wings: Challenges to the Public Sphere in the Network Age

2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mike Francoeur
Keyword(s):  
Public Sphere ◽  
Public Discourse ◽  
The Internet ◽  
The Public ◽  
Digital Space ◽  
Multiple Viewpoints ◽  
Internet Users ◽  
Economic Production ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
Communicative Space

There is a tendency, particularly among Western pundits and technologists, to examine the Internet in almost universally positive terms; this is most evident in any discussion of the medium’s capacity for democratization. While the Internet has produced many great things for society in terms of cultural and economic production, some consideration must be given to the implications that such a revolutionary medium holds for the public sphere. By creating a communicative space that essentially grants everyone his or her own microphone, the Internet is fragmenting public discourse due to the proliferation of opinions and messages and the removal of traditional gatekeepers of information. More significantly, because of the structural qualities of the Internet, users no longer have to expose themselves to opinions and viewpoints that fall outside their own preconceived notions. This limits the robustness of the public sphere by limiting the healthy debate that can only occur when exposed to multiple viewpoints. Ultimately, the Internet is not going anywhere, so it is important to equip the public with the tools and knowledge to be able to navigate the digital space. 

scholarly journals A Review of the Halal Poultry Slaughtering from Welfare and Legal Perspectives: Analysis of Research Results

2021 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 11-27
Author(s):  
Karrar Imad Abdulsahib Al-Shammari
Keyword(s):  
Public Sphere ◽  
Animal Cruelty ◽  
The European Union ◽  
The Public ◽  
Current Review ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Muslim Majority ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
Controversial Aspect

The subject of halal slaughtering is one of the most widely discussed issues of animal cruelty and animal welfare in the public sphere. The discrepancy in understanding the contemporary and religious laws pertaining to animal slaughtering does not fully publicize to Islamic and Muslim majority countries especially with respect to interpreting the use of stunning in animals. The electrical stunning is the cheapest, easiest, safest, and most suitable method for slaughtering that is widespread and developed. However, stunning on head of poultry before being slaughtered is a controversial aspect among the Islamic sects due to regulations of the European Union and some other countries. The current review highlights the instructions of halal slaughtering, legal legislation, and the effect of this global practice on poultry welfare and the quality of produced meat.

scholarly journals Facebook as a Digital Public Sphere: Processes of Colonization and Emancipation

2012 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-91 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bjarki Valtysson
Keyword(s):  
Public Sphere ◽  
Qualitative Data ◽  
Data Use ◽  
Jürgen Habermas ◽  
The Public ◽  
Jurgen Habermas ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
Communicative Space

In this article, Facebook, as a communicative space, is treated as a public sphere in order to identify processes of colonization and emancipation. The analysis focuses on Facebook’s communicative-structural contexts, in particular from the viewpoint of user terms, user manoeuvre, privacy/data use policy, and ownership and use of uploaded material. The analysis is also based on qualitative data from Danish Facebook users, where the focus was on the users’ motivation and use, their perceptions of ownership and consumerism, as well as their views on the public/private distinction that Facebook allows for/commands for. Theoretically, the article is grounded in Jürgen Habermas’ various writings on the public sphere, as well as ‘digital adaptations’ to his theory. When looked upon from the communicative-structural contexts, processes of colonization are apparent, particularly in the various grey zones identified in Facebook’s privacy/data use policy, its state-ments of rights and responsibilities and in the fashion in which users are treated as consumers. Even though the Danish Facebook users identified with this, they still conceive of Facebook as being an emancipative communicative space, as they prioritize different features of Facebook, namely networking, practical organisation, maintaining friendships, and leisure.

scholarly journals Science and technology in a mediatized and democratized society

2007 ◽  
Vol 06 (01) ◽  
pp. A02 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pieter A. Maeseele
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Mass Media ◽  
Public Sphere ◽  
Scientific Literacy ◽  
Science Communication ◽  
European Research ◽  
The European Union ◽  
The Public ◽  
Economic Progress ◽  
Western Democracies

We inhabit an age in which economic progress in the European Union is equalized to more European research and better communication of that European research to the public. In highly developed Western democracies this implies an important role for the public as well as the mass media, both actors in a transforming public sphere. Beyond a call for more communication and more scientific literacy, the discourse has shifted to a call for more engagement and more participation on behalf of the citizen. There is a widespread sentiment however that the discipline of science communication is at a crossroads. In this paper it is argued that in a context of life politics and an increasing displacement of politics, one has to account for the trajectories of issue formation and the detours of public-ization to understand the dynamics of techno-scientific issues.

scholarly journals Facebook as a Digital Public Sphere: Processes of Colonization and Emancipation

2012 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-91
Author(s):  
Bjarki Valtysson
Keyword(s):  
Public Sphere ◽  
Qualitative Data ◽  
Data Use ◽  
Jürgen Habermas ◽  
The Public ◽  
Jurgen Habermas ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
Communicative Space

In this article, Facebook, as a communicative space, is treated as a public sphere in order to identify processes of colonization and emancipation. The analysis focuses on Facebook’s communicative-structural contexts, in particular from the viewpoint of user terms, user manoeuvre, privacy/data use policy, and ownership and use of uploaded material. The analysis is also based on qualitative data from Danish Facebook users, where the focus was on the users’ motivation and use, their perceptions of ownership and consumerism, as well as their views on the public/private distinction that Facebook allows for/commands for. Theoretically, the article is grounded in Jürgen Habermas’ various writings on the public sphere, as well as ‘digital adaptations’ to his theory. When looked upon from the communicative-structural contexts, processes of colonization are apparent, particularly in the various grey zones identified in Facebook’s privacy/data use policy, its state-ments of rights and responsibilities and in the fashion in which users are treated as consumers. Even though the Danish Facebook users identified with this, they still conceive of Facebook as being an emancipative communicative space, as they prioritize different features of Facebook, namely networking, practical organisation, maintaining friendships, and leisure.

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