ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the theoretical debates surrounding the democratising potential of cyberspace. Proponents of deliberative democracy did not go on a search to discover an effective and inclusive forum of public deliberation on a mass scale and come across the Internet. Rather early cyber-enthusiasts quickly embraced the notion of the public sphere and the theory of deliberative democracy developed by Jürgen Habermas and claimed that the Internet provides just that-a virtual public sphere. This discussion goes beyond evaluating the generic potential and actual patterns of use of the Internet for public deliberation. It focuses on whether the virtual public sphere is self-evolving or instead needs to be engineered. An ‘Atlantic divide’ is emerging over this question. Policy makers and academics in Europe, and particularly the United Kingdom, propose putting the web to use by administrating public debate forums through government action. In the United States, a concept of decentralised self-management is advocated.
