Tahrir Square

Tahrir, Castells and the emergence of a new, technology enabled 'Public Sphere'

Manuel Castell's 'The New Public Sphere: Global Civil Society, Communication Networks, and Global Governance

Castell's explains in this text, that

*Without an effective civil society capable of structuring and channelling citizen debates over diverse ideas and conflicting interests, the state drifts away from its subjects (Chapter 2, p 38)

*'Civil society’ is an organised expression of the views of this public sphere, and it is through the public sphere that diverse forms of civil society enact this public debate (Chapter 2, p37)