HABERMAS AND THE CONCEPT OF THE PUBLIC SPHERE: A REVIEW OF PUBLIC SPHERE THEORY

Abstract

Since the mid-1960s, public sphere studies have received increasing attention; because of the theoretical contribution of the German academic researcher Jürgen Habermas, who traced the history of the emergence of the public sphere in Europe in the modern era. The main dimension of Habermas’ contribution was related to the nature of the communicational public sphere, as distinct from the political sphere, and from the civil sphere where relations are based on mutual interest and trust. So, this contribution sought to identify the public sphere theory in public space; to monitor the structure of this space and its functions, and the role it played in understanding the issues of the contemporary world.