Description: This book shows how democratic theory can become empirically applicable and the social sciences normatively relevant. It links democratic theory to the theory of society and relates both to a cognitive-communicative account of public culture. Of interest to scholars of sociology, philosophy, cultural and communication studies and political science.
Review Quotes: «This is a substantial and important work not only of exegesis and synthesis but also of conceptual development extending along the lines of Habermas's revisions of the 1990s. A close reading of this text by media scholars would undoubtedly prove beneficial not only in helping to tighten up how the public sphere is used as a concept but also in terms of reframing how we conceive of the public sphere operating in contemporary societies.» (Michael Pickering, European Journal of Communication 29, 2014)