Is Habermas's concept of the public sphere still relevant in
an age of globalization, when the transnational flows of people and
information have become increasingly intensive and when the
nation-state can no longer be taken granted as the natural frame
for social and political debate? This is the question posed with
characteristic acuity by Nancy Fraser in her influential article
'Transnationalizing the Public Sphere?' Challenging
careless uses of the term 'global public sphere',
Fraser raises the debate about the nature and role of the public
sphere in a global age to a new level. While drawing on the
richness of Habermas's conception and remaining faithful to
the spirit of critical theory, Fraser thoroughly reconstructs the
concepts of inclusion, legitimacy and efficacy for our globalizing
times.
This book includes Fraser's original article as well as
specially commissioned contributions that raise searching questions
about the theoretical assumptions and empirical grounds of
Fraser's argument. They are concerned with the fundamental
premises of Habermas's development of the concept of the
public sphere as a normative ideal in complex societies; the
significance of the fact that the public sphere emerged in modern
states that were also imperial; whether 'scaling up' to
a global public sphere means giving up on local and national
publics; the role of 'counterpublics' in developing
alternative globalization; and what inclusion might possibly mean
for a global public. Fraser responds to these questions in detail
in an extended reply to her critics.
An invaluable resource for students and scholars concerned with the
role of the public sphere beyond the nation-state, this book will
also be welcomed by anyone interested in globalization and
democracy today.
