Progressive Social Movements and the Creation of European Public Spheres

Porta, Donatella della

doi:10.1177/02632764221103510

Cited by 10 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 42 publications

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“…Fraser, 1992). The many debates on digital media and the formation of social movements (e.g., Porta, 2022) also tie in with this possibility. Finally, there is the possibility that there will be no effective generalization of experiences and interests if private opinions are networked but, driven by the possibility of finally also being authorized as an author, close themselves off from communicative irritation and thus from opinion formation.…”

Section: On the Problem Of The Digital Semi‐public Spherementioning

confidence: 99%

“Ideology and simultaneously more than mere ideology”: On Habermas’ reflections and hypotheses on a further structural transformation of the political public sphere

Sevignani

2023

Constellations

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As someone who works interdisciplinarily between media and communication studies and sociology with an overall interest in critical social theory, Habermas' "most successful" (Habermas, 2022a, p. 145) book is important in at least three respects: He develops a normative, critical concept of the public sphere and the formation of public opinion, which aims at democratizing domination, that is ties it to a process of unrestricted discussion of questions of general interest involving all those affected. The development of this possibility, but also the transformation and disintegration of the public sphere, is sociologically embedded, that is, considered in the light of changing socio-spatial frames of reference, mediatization, and political-economic developments (cf. Seeliger & Sevignani, 2022). Habermas, like few in critical social theory, is concerned with the organization and political economy of the media. 1 It was therefore a great honor that he not only contributed a commentary to texts edited by Martin Seeliger and me (first in German: Habermas, 2021, then also in English: Habermas, 2022a), but even wrote an independent text, which is now also available as a book together with smaller texts (Habermas, 2022b).Against this background, I was very pleased to be invited to participate in this symposium on his new book. In this contribution, I will first, according to Habermas, briefly sketch the role of the public sphere in liberal-representative political systems and its transformation during the rise of digital communication. Then, I will point to a notable tension, immanent to Habermas new reflections, between, on the one hand, the normative goal of communicative learning and development and, on the other hand, his affirmation of "editorial tutelage." This tension, I think, presses to repose the question of ideology again that Habermas has removed from and at best locates outside the public sphere. By making the gate-keeper paradigm of mass-media communication as a yardstick to evaluate the ongoing transformations, Habermas tends to misjudge the quality of digital semi-public spheres. Not the lack of generalization, I argue finally, but a different, emancipatory, form of generalization is the core problem of public opinion formation. HABERMAS' OLD AND NEW REFLECTIONS ON THE PUBLIC SPHEREIn his new reflections, Habermas recapitulates-in a concise but accessible form-his approach to critical theory as reconstructive critique (1), his "sociological translation" (Habermas, 1996, p. 315) of the political public sphere (2), and 84

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Section: On the Problem Of The Digital Semi‐public Spherementioning

confidence: 99%

“Ideology and simultaneously more than mere ideology”: On Habermas’ reflections and hypotheses on a further structural transformation of the political public sphere

Sevignani

2023

Constellations

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“…To consider the political implications of transnationalizing processes with a focus on CSOs may seem paradoxical at first sight: these organizations are very much place-based and regularly rooted in specific local realities. Still, in the Italian context, these CSOs have demonstrated a deepened commitment to exploring political opportunities at the international, European level (Chiodi 2021;Crepaz 2022;della Porta 2022; for an overview see: Mattoni and Rone 2022).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Europeanization as Pragmatic Politics: Italy’s Civil Society Actors Operating in the Face of Right-Wing Populism

Mat,

Chiodi,

Schmidtke

2024

Social Sciences

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This article examines how and under what conditions Italy’s civil society organizations (CSOs) have resorted to transnational activism and to what extent these efforts translate into impactful political advocacy. The analysis focuses on the action strategies of these civil society actors that have come under considerable pressure through the resurgence of populist–nationalist actors in the domestic arena. Developing an actor-centred perspective from below, this article draws on a series of 27 interviews conducted with these organizations’ representatives working primarily on issues related to migration and refugees in Italy. The empirical study examines some key initiatives that see domestic CSOs as protagonists in the transnational realm and explicates their motivations, approaches, and experiences. Conceptually, the article distinguishes between the vertical and horizontal Europeanization of CSOs. While there are notable opportunities for CSOs to engage in Brussels-centred governance and policy making, the effectiveness of horizontal Europeanization in the form of cross-border networking is—at first sight paradoxically—limited by the EU’s system of multi-level governance. The central argument about Europeanizing civil society activism is that these processes are primarily driven by a pragmatic pursuit of solutions to concrete political challenges that could not be properly addressed in an increasingly hostile domestic environment.

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Public Sphere

Lang

2023

International Encyclopedia of Civil Society

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Progressive Social Movements and the Creation of European Public Spheres

Cited by 10 publications

References 42 publications

“Ideology and simultaneously more than mere ideology”: On Habermas’ reflections and hypotheses on a further structural transformation of the political public sphere

“Ideology and simultaneously more than mere ideology”: On Habermas’ reflections and hypotheses on a further structural transformation of the political public sphere

Europeanization as Pragmatic Politics: Italy’s Civil Society Actors Operating in the Face of Right-Wing Populism

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