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European Journal of Communication
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Beyond 'In so far as' Questions

Contingent Social Imaginaries of the European Public Sphere

Heikki Heikkilä

Department of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Tampere, 33014, Finland, Heikki.heikkila{at}uta.fi

{blacksquare} Sociological analysts of the European public sphere (EPS) are not great believers in the assumption that an EPS will emerge. The argument stems from cumulative empirical evidence stating that contemporary communication structures and practices do not live up to the ideals of the public sphere; not even in their moderate forms. While this line of analysis is useful, it runs the risk of ignoring the fact that the public sphere is not a fixed, but an emergent concept. In order to safeguard this emergent aspect, it is proposed that we should move forward from `insofar as' questions and start looking for social imaginaries of an EPS in more `unlikely places'. A plausible object for such scrutiny would be the European Union and its information policies. {blacksquare}

Key Words: European public sphere • European Union • information policies • social imaginaries • White Paper

European Journal of Communication, Vol. 22, No. 4, 427-441 (2007)
DOI: 10.1177/0267323107083060
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