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Mahlouly, Dounia (2014) 'Rational Criticism, Ideological Sustainability and Intellectual Leadership in the Digital Public Sphere.' International Journal of E-Politics, 5 (1). pp. 78-90.

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Abstract

This review postulates that today's digital environments unveil an era of connectivity, in which digital communication devices exercise a general influence on social interactions and public deliberation. From this perspective, it argues that connective practices are likely to affect two main components of the normative public sphere, namely rational criticism and ideological sustainability. Drawing on the case of the 2011 Arab revolutions, in which social media proved to have a strategic function, this paper illustrates the ideological heterogeneity of social networks. Additionally, this article considers how issues of rational criticism and ideological sustainability could be improved by regulating online interactions and proposes that the digital divide could act as a natural process of regulation for today's connective and transnational public sphere.

Item Type: Journal Article
Keywords: Arab Spring, Connectivity, Cyber-Activism, Digital Divide, e-Democracy, Ideological Sustainability, Intellectual Leadership,Public Sphere, Rational Criticism
SOAS Departments & Centres: Departments and Subunits > Interdisciplinary Studies > Centre for Global Media and Communications
ISSN: 19479131
Copyright Statement: Copyright © 2014, IGI Global. This is the published version of record. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions.
DOI (Digital Object Identifier): https://doi.org/10.4018/ijep.2014010105
Date Deposited: 03 Jun 2019 13:44
URI: https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/id/eprint/31125
Funders: Other

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