[Air-L] Digital Democracy and the Digital Public Sphere

[Christian Fuchs]

Christian Fuchs. 2023. Digital Democracy and the Digital Public Sphere. 
Media, Communication and Society Volume Six. London: Routledge. 320 pages.
Sample chapters and more information:
https://fuchsc.uti.at/books/digital-democracy-and-the-digital-public-sphere/ 


Based on the approach of the Critique of the Political Economy and 
dialectical philosophy, this sixth volume in Christian Fuchs’ Media, 
Communication and Society series critically address questions around the 
digital public sphere and the challenges and opportunities for digital 
democracy today.
The book discusses topics such as Karl Marx, journalism and democracy; 
digital democracy, the digital public sphere, digital alienation, 
sustainability in digital democracy, journalism and democracy, public 
service media, the public service Internet, and democratic 
communications. Fuchs argues for the creation of a public service 
Internet run by public service media that consists of platforms such as 
a public service YouTube and Club 2.0, a renewed digital democracy and 
digital public sphere version of the legendary debate programme format 
Club 2.
The book presents foundations and analyses of digital democracy that are 
interesting for both students and researchers in media studies, cultural 
studies, communication studies, political science, sociology, Internet 
research, information science, as well as related disciplines.

Table of Contents

I. INTRODUCTION

1. Democracy, Communicative Democracy, Digital Democracy

II. FOUNDATIONS OF DIGITAL DEMOCRACY

2. The Dialectic: Not Just the Absolute Recoil, but the World’s Living 
Fire that Extinguishes and Kindles Itself: Reflections on Slavoj Žižek’s 
Version of Dialectical Philosophy in „Absolute Recoil: Towards a New 
Foundation of Dialectical Materialism“

3. The Critique of the Political Economy of the Media and Communication

4. Power in the Age of Social Media

5. The Praxis School’s Marxist Humanism and Mihailo Marković’s Theory of 
Communication

6. Sustainability and Community Networks

7. Karl Marx, Journalism, and Democracy

8. Towards a Critical Theory of Communication as Renewal and Update of 
Marxist Humanism in the Age of Digital Capitalism

9. Digital Democracy, Public Service Media, and the Public Service Internet

III. CONCLUSION

10. The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere and Alienation: 
Challenges and Opportunities for the Advancement of Digital Democracy

Also available:
Media, Communication and Society Volume 1: Marxist Humanism and 
Communication Theory
Media, Communication and Society Volume 2: Foundations of Critical Theory
Media, Communication and Society Volume 3: Digital Capitalism
Media, Communication and Society Volume 4: Digital Fascism
Media, Communication and Society Volume 5: Digital Ethics