Public Spheres and Mediated Social Networks in the Western Context and Beyond

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xiii

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2. Introduction

   • Petros Iosifidis, Mark Wheeler

   Pages 1-9

3. Theory and Practice

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 11-11

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   2. Social Media, Public Sphere and Democracy

      • Petros Iosifidis, Mark Wheeler

      Pages 13-37

   3. The Political Economy of Social Media

      • Petros Iosifidis, Mark Wheeler

      Pages 39-64

   4. Western Media Policy Frameworks and Values

      • Petros Iosifidis, Mark Wheeler

      Pages 65-92

4. Western Liberal Democratic Traditions, Grassroots Politics and the Social Media

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 93-93

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   2. Modern Political Communication and Web 2.0 in Representative Democracies: The United States and the British Experience

      • Petros Iosifidis, Mark Wheeler

      Pages 95-121

   3. The Public Sphere and Network Democracy: The Arab Spring, WikiLeaks and the Edward Snowden Revelations

      • Petros Iosifidis, Mark Wheeler

      Pages 123-147

   4. Public Diplomacy 2.0 and the Social Media

      • Petros Iosifidis, Mark Wheeler

      Pages 149-173

5. The Rise of the BRICS and On-line Interest

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 175-175

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   2. Russia and China: Autocratic and On-line

      • Petros Iosifidis, Mark Wheeler

      Pages 177-201

   3. India and South Africa; Post-colonial Power, Democratization and the Online Community

      • Petros Iosifidis, Mark Wheeler

      Pages 203-228

   4. Japan, South Korea, Brazil: Post-industrial Societies; Hard and Software

      • Petros Iosifidis, Mark Wheeler

      Pages 229-256

   5. The Social Media and the Middle East

      • Petros Iosifidis, Mark Wheeler

      Pages 257-283

   6. Conclusion

      • Petros Iosifidis, Mark Wheeler

      Pages 285-287

6. Back Matter

   Pages 289-297

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Social media is said to radically change the way in which public communication takes place: information diffuses faster and can reach a large number of people, but what makes the process so novel is that online networks can empower people to compete with traditional broadcasters or public figures. This book critically interrogates the contemporary relevance of social networks as a set of economic, cultural and political enterprises and as a public sphere in which a variety of political and socio-cultural demands can be met. It examines policy, regulatory and socio-cultural issues arising from the transformation of communication to a multi-layered sphere of online and social networks. The central theme of the book is to address the following questions: Are online and social networks an unstoppable democratizing and mobilizing force?  Is there a need for policy and intervention to ensure the development of comprehensive and inclusive social networking frameworks? Social media are viewed both as a tool that allows citizens to influence policymaking, and as an object of new policies and regulations, such as data retention, privacy and copyright laws, around which citizens are mobilizing. 

• social media
• public sphere
• democracy
• BRICS countries
• social networks

“Petros Iosifidis and Mark Wheeler’s new book mobilizes some big and important themes on the structure of communication in today’s world. Through a careful mix of theoretical discussion and examples, it sheds light on how the fractal and hybrid character of contemporary media systems shapes political action. This is a useful, up-to-date, and refreshingly panoramic perspective on the relationships between media, citizenship, governance, and policy.” (Professor Andrew Chadwick, New Political Communication Unit, Royal Holloway, University of London)

“The value and impact, in terms of enhancing democratic engagement, of social media is an extremely important topic. As millions globally take to social media and many of those intersperse interacting with friends, posting pictures from their daily lives with interactions about politics academia needs to critically evaluate what effects this has and might have. This important work by Iosifidis and Wheeler contributes theoretically and empirically to contemporaneous debates, importantly broadening these into a global focus to examine whether we can yet suggest ICTs are facilitating the formation of a public sphere.” (Dr Darren G. Lilleker, Associate Professor, Political Communication, Bournemouth University)

• Department of Sociology, City University, LONDON, United Kingdom

  Petros Iosifidis

• Politics and International Relations, London Metropolitan University, London, United Kingdom

  Mark Wheeler

Author Petros Iosifidis: Petros Iosifidis is Professor in Media and Communication Policy in the Department of Sociology, City University London, UK. He is the author of Public Television in the Digital Era (2007), Global Media and Communication Policy (2011), co-author of The Political Economy of Television Sports Rights (2013) and editor of Reinventing Public Service Communication (2010).

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