Global public sphere. Aye or Nay?

In the third article entitled “The New Public Sphere: Global Civil Society, Communication Networks, and Global Governance”, Manuel Castells describes the process of evolution of Public Sphere in the contemporary society.

The public sphere is the space of communication of ideas and projects that emerge from society and are addressed to the decision makers in the institutions of society (Castells 2008). In other words, the public sphere is the place of dialogue between society and the government. It is understandable that with the change of our society the public sphere changes as well. It is said that public sphere exists within the political/institutional space that is not subject to any particular sovereign power but, instead, is shaped by the variable geometry of relationships between states and global nonstate actors (Guidry, Kennedy, and Zald 2000 in Castells 2008). Therefore, since we live in a globalized world, the model of public sphere is changing accordingly into a global public sphere, where many international institutions come to life, which deal with issues on a global scale (e.g. NATO, EU).

Unfortunately, I think there are some limitations as to the concept of global public sphere. As Castells argues, “more often than not, governments do not share the same principles or the same interpretation of common principles" (Castells 2008). This can indeed cause problems and disarray as governments often have to choose between what is best for their own nation or what is best for everyone. The best example would be European Union since it frequently happens that some member countries vote for, and other countries vote against a particular proposal or project, most likely passing judgment as to what is in their nation’s best interest.

In that sense, it looks like there is a line which sets certain limitations to global governance. According to the author, “the more the globalization process proceeds, the more contradictions it generates (e.g. identity crises, economic crises, and security crises), leading to a revival of nationalism and to the primacy of sovereignty” (Castells 2008), which in my humble opinion does not sound too optimistic, judging by the fact that the world is becoming more and more globalized. I begin to doubt if the concept of global public sphere will flourish more and if we will see more examples of global governance in the future. What do you think?

References:

Castells, M. (2008) The New Public Sphere: Global Civil Society, Communication Networks, and Global Governance. The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 2008 616. pp. 78-93.