an the public sphere be understood as a cultural phenomenon? Perhaps, C although an approach through the social seems less circuitous. This may be due in part to Habermas’s lucid formation in The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere ([1962] 1989). The term “public sphere” conjures in the mind an image of place, whether we see the coffee houses, salons, and debating clubs of seventeent...

This article offers the first empirical and cross-national analysis of citizens’ views about democratic importance public sphere. We identify three normative functions that spheres are expected to perform in representative democracies: they provide voice alternative perspectives, empower citizens criticise political authorities disseminate information on matters interest. then argue develop dif...