Social media, cellphone video fuel Arab protests
The Public Spheres are of two categories i.e. The ‘Private Sphere’ which is the civil society and the ‘Sphere of Public Authority Which is the Government, Police etc. With the concept of Public sphere it is possible for the Private Sphere to approach the State and Public Authorities. Access for minority voices and political outsiders are essential features of a successful Public Sphere ( World bank,ComGapp).
According to CommGapp, Democratic Public Spheres constitutes 5 elements.
1) Constitutionally guaranteed civil liberties.
Most countries have accepted basic civil liberties and agreed upon the Universal Declaration on human rights. This covers the areas of freedom of expression, opinion and assembly.
2) Free, plural and independent media systems free from state or corporate control.
This will ensure that the media systems are not biased and facilitate accurate news.
3) Access to public information
This ensures transparency and openness in social and political activities.
4) The existence of a Civil Society
There must be a type of society that supports demands for accountability for actions whether from the State or Society.
5) Availability of sites for every day talk about public affairs.
This is for the formation of public opinions. It ensures the freedom to gather at various places for discussion.
The internet which a popular Public Sphere does not contain all these elements. Salter (2004) argues that the internet is shaped by ‘Forms of Use’ ie how people use it. In some developing countries the access to an internet is limited due economical difficulties.In such cases the internet is only for an exclusive portion of the society. Then it provides a disorganized spheres which could consist unreasonableness and excessive opinions ( Dean 2003). It could create influential identities in the society and undermine the democratic ideal of equality ( Lanat 2008). An example of this situation is the Zaptista rebellion movement in Mexico which used the media to create identities.
It is hard to accept the existence of ideal democratic Public Spheres these days, in most countries. Most Government are exerting unreasonable control over the media for their political agendas.
References
‘ The Public Sphere’, no d., Communication for Governance and Accountability Program, World Bank, Available at < http://siteresources.worldbank.org/EXGOVACC/Resources/PubSphereweb.pdf > Retrieved 12 June 2011
Dean, J, 2003, ‘ Why the Net is Not a Public Sphere, Constellations, 10, 1, Pg 95 – 112
Habermas J 1996, Between Facts and Norms: Contributions to a Discourse Theory of law and Democracy, Cambridge : Polity Press
Lunat, Z , 2008, The Internet and the Public Sphere: Evidence from Civil Society In Developing Countries, Government Department, London School of Economics and Political Science, Available at < http://www.ejisdc.org/ojs2/index.php/ejisdc/article/viewFile/501/253 > Retrieved 12 June 2011
Salter, L, 2004, ‘ Structure and Forms of Use; A Contribution to understanding the ‘Effects’ of the Internet on Deliberative Democracy, Information, Communication & Society, 7,2, P 185- 206