This article examines the development of a global public sphere (based on global communication networks), and of ‘public diplomacy’ in this sphere. Globalisation has shifted debate from the national to the global domain, prompting the emergence of a global civil society, of ad hoc forms of global governance, and of a global public sphere. Public diplomacy – the diplomacy of the public, not of the government – intervenes in this global sphere, laying the ground for traditional forms of diplomacy to act beyond the strict negotiation of power relationships by building on shared cultural meaning. The global public sphere could facilitate public debate to inform the emergence of consensual global governance.
The public sphere is the space in which ideas and projects that emerge from society are communicated, addressed to decision-makers. The relationships between government and civil society and their interaction via the public sphere define the polity of society.
The problems brought on by globalisation have caused nation states to adapt and develop global governance on an ad hoc basis. For example, nation states have formed networks of states (such as the European Union), built networks of international institutions (such as the United Nations) or decentralised power. However, the development of this ‘network’ state poses a number of problems, not least in terms of legitimacy and ideology, and the persistence of parochial national interests. As long as these problems persist, it is difficult for the world’s geopolitical actors to shift to a system of global governance.
The transition from pragmatic forms of global governance to a more sophisticated system requires the shared production of meaning by global civil society and the networked state. The global/local communication media system provides a forum for this contemporary global public sphere:
- The global public sphere is built around the media communication system and Internet networks, particularly in the social spaces of the Web 2.0.
- The current media system is local and global at the same time. It is organised around a core of media business groups with global reach. However, at the same time, it is dependent on state regulations and focused on broadcasting to specific audiences.
- By acting on the media system, particularly by creating events that send powerful images and messages, transnational activists can induce a debate on globalisation and on related societal choices.
- It is through the media, both mass media and horizontal networks of communication, that non-state actors influence opinion and foster social change.
It is essential, therefore, for state actors and intergovernmental institutions to engage with civil society in public debates in the global public sphere. To harness the power of the world’s public opinion through global media and Internet networks is the most effective form of broadening political participation on a global scale. It induces a connection between the government-based international institutions and the global civil society. This can take place by stimulating dialogue regarding specific initiatives and recording, on an ongoing basis, the contributions of this dialogue so that it can inform international policymaking.