The Transformation of Public Sphere

This anthology aims to conduct a wide-ranging discussion on the development of and changes to various elements of the public sphere in Turkish society. In this context, the term ‘public sphere’ refers to the different spheres of interaction in society, such as the media, urban spaces, political parties and social movements etc. The forms these areas of the public domain take are influenced by diverse economic, political and cultural organisations and bodies. Collectivity and subjectivity are produced (or reproduced) in these areas of the public sphere and then multiply and are transformed into intensive battlegrounds in modern capitalist society. On the other hand, discussions on the public sphere give rise to new critical perspectives on the liberal capitalist system and the concepts of democracy which derive from it. Bearing this state of affairs in mind, this book examines the development of the various political, social environmental and state elements of the public sphere in Turkey since the end of the 1980s. The contributions it contains adopt a variety of conceptual and analytical approaches to examining and analysing the notion of the public sphere and, by analysing the development of its different areas, endeavour to reveal the multifaceted changes that have taken place in Turkish society.