Davis, Aeron. 2009. Evaluating Communication in the British Parliamentary Public Sphere. The British Journal Of Politics And International Relations, 11(2), pp. 280-297. ISSN 1369-1481 [Article]

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Abstract or Description

This article begins with a re-evaluation of political communication research based on Habermas' original theory of the public sphere. It presents Habermas' alternative framework for assessing communication in contemporary ‘actually existing democracies’. The model is then tested with a case study of the UK parliamentary public sphere based on 95 semi-structured interviews with political actors (politicians, journalists and officials). It concludes that parliament today operates rather better, according to public sphere norms, than the public sphere described in Habermas' accounts of 18th and 19th-century England. Such a finding, on its own, is clearly at odds with public perception. The research accordingly offers two explanations for this disparity and the (perceived) crisis of political legitimacy in UK politics.

Item Type:	Article
Identification Number (DOI):	https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-856X.2008.00344.x
Departments, Centres and Research Units:	Media, Communications and Cultural Studies Research Office > REF2014 Media, Communications and Cultural Studies > Goldsmiths Leverhulme Media Research Centre
Dates:	Date Event 2009 Published
Item ID:	6004
Date Deposited:	13 Oct 2011 12:30
Last Modified:	27 Feb 2019 12:20
Peer Reviewed:	Yes, this version has been peer-reviewed.
URI:	https://research.gold.ac.uk/id/eprint/6004

Available Versions of this Item

• Evaluating Communication in the British Parliamentary Public Sphere. (deposited 14 Oct 2010 12:04)
  • Evaluating Communication in the British Parliamentary Public Sphere. (deposited 13 Oct 2011 12:30) [Currently Displayed]

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