The European Public Sphere

Myth, Reality or Aspiration

Bibliographic Data

ID7973078
AuthorsCristian Nitoiu (0000-0001-7260-7248, Loughborough University, corresponding author)
Year2013
Volume11
Issue1
Pages26-38
Publication date2013-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenuePolitical Studies Review (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1478-9299 • E-ISSN: 1478-9302
PublisherSAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1111/j.1478-9302.2012.00287.x
OpenAlexW1646502069
LanguageEN
Citations received12
References cited35

The discussion about the public sphere only began to have significant relevance within the setting of the European Union in the middle of the 1990s when a growing degree of attention was directed towards European integration and the role of national and transnational media in providing thrust for it. Since then, the notion of the public sphere has been seen as a central feature of European democracies, shaping the coherence of political systems and decision-making processes. There has also been a tendency in the literature to perceive the European public sphere (EPS) as having positive effects on the EU by endowing it with legitimacy and providing a space where its institutions and leaders can be made more transparent and accountable. What is disputed throughout this scholarship is the possibility of creating an overarching European public sphere that would act as a transnational discursive space uniting various communication fluxes and actors from all strata of society. However, the answers provided by scholars for this puzzle are at most ambiguous or undecided and seem to be torn between viewing the EPS as aspiration, myth or reality

Coherence (philosophical gambling strategy · Economics · European union · International trade · Legitimacy · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Public opinion · Public space · Public sphere · Relevance (law · Scholarship · Sociology · European Union Policy and Governance · Law · Political Influence and Corporate Strategies · Social Media and Politics