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Lincoln Dahlberg

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My interests are in digital democracy theory and practice, the political economy and ideology of social media platforms, radical democratic theory and practice, critical political economy of communication, public sphere theory, Habermasian critical theory, post-Marxist discourse theory, and ideology critique.

I am working on three overlapping projects:

i. To examine "digital democracy" practice and ideology in relation to the political economy of social media platforms in general, and Facebook in particular, and to identify ways forward for the advancement of democracy through social media communications.

ii. To develop "critique" in relation to post-Marxist Discourse Theory and platform capitalism, with a particular focus on ideology critique, critical political economy, and normative critique.

ii. To develop a radicalization of public sphere theory through critical engagement with the work of radical democratic theorists in the context of global communication networking and global capitalism.

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Shane J Ralston

Woolf University

Universidad de Sevilla

Polytechnic of Zagreb

Aalborg University

Tampere University

University of Ontario Institute of Technology

Tanner Mirrlees

University of Ontario Institute of Technology

Boise State University

Mohammad Khalil

University of Bergen

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Books by Lincoln Dahlberg

Discourse Theory and Critical Media Politics

by Lincoln Dahlberg and Sean Phelan

Radical Democracy and the Internet: Interrogating Theory and Practice

Papers by Lincoln Dahlberg

Facebook's Response to its Democratic Discontents: Quality initiatives, ideology, and education's role

Chapter from the book: Stocchetti, M. The Digital Age and Its Discontents: Critical Reflections in Education. (pp. 69–94). Helsinki: Helsinki University Press., 2020

Visibility and The Public Sphere: A Normative Conceptualisation [Forthcoming, URL here for free paper for first 50 downloads]

Javnost - The Public, 2018

The concept of visibility has been associated with the public sphere conception for a long time. ... more The concept of visibility has been associated with the public sphere conception for a long time. However, the public sphere has not been explicitly defined in terms of visibility. This paper reconstructs from a range of relevant critical and poststructuralist theory a set of public sphere conditions for which the concept of visibility, drawing upon a variety of its connotations, can be understood as central. The paper also suggests roles that communications media, and particularly the new digital “social media,” can play in the conditions’ realisation and identifies some of the current impediments to the fulfilment of these roles.

Cyberlibertarianism

Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Communication, Oct 2017

Cyberlibertarianism, broadly speaking, refers to a discourse that claims that the Internet and re... more Cyberlibertarianism, broadly speaking, refers to a discourse that claims that the Internet and related digital media technology can and should constitute spaces of individual liberty. Liberty here is understood as non-interference such that individuals are able to act and express themselves as they choose, and thus are self-governed, where interference is understood as most readily emanating from governments but also at times from corporations, particularly crony-capitalist ones. Various strands of this discourse have developed over the last few decades. These strands differ in the weight that they place on technology, markets, policy, and law for securing cyberspace as a space of, and for, individual freedom.

Expanding Digital Divides Research: A Critical Political Economy of Social Media

Available at http://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/2hne56tBvdQSTMGfmisb/full

Capitalism as a Discursive System? Interrogating Discourse Theory’s Contribution to Critical Political Economy

Critical Discourse Studies

Discourse theory posits capitalism as a radically contingent discursive system constituted throug... more Discourse theory posits capitalism as a radically contingent discursive system constituted through hegemonic practice. This paper asks what this discursive conception means for the critical analysis of capitalism. To answer this question, the paper first outlines the ways by which this discursive conceptualization enables a critical political economy of capitalist systems: namely by enabling a theorization of how such systems are hegemonically constituted, are ideologically maintained, become prone to crises, and may be contested. The paper then examines how this discursive conceptualization might account for the workings and dynamics, including cause -effect relations, of capitalism. That is, the paper examines if and how discourse theory can contribute to a critical political economy of capitalist systems. This examination draws upon and develops the concept of social logics. The paper concludes by suggesting that discourse theory can 'supplement' the critique of capitalist systems.

The Habermasian Public Sphere and Exclusion: An Engagement with Poststructuralist-Influenced Critics

Communication Theory, 2014

One trenchant critique of the Habermasian public sphere conception, voiced particularly strongly ... more One trenchant critique of the Habermasian public sphere conception, voiced particularly strongly by poststructuralist-influenced critics, is that it fails to fully account for exclusion. In this article I examine the strength of this critique. I begin by demonstrating how Habermasians have in many ways already theorized public sphere exclusion. Given this, I ask what is left of the poststructuralist-inspired critique. I argue that what is left is a deep disagreement with Habermasians about the grounding of the public sphere conception. I subsequently ask what difference, and moreover what positive contribution, a poststructuralist (rather than a Habermasian) grounding can make for understanding public sphere exclusion and associated politics.

Exclusions of the Public Spere Conception: Examining Deliberative and Discourse Theory Accounts

The deliberative conception of the public sphere has proven popular in the critical evaluation of... more The deliberative conception of the public sphere has proven popular in the critical evaluation of the democratic role of media and communication. However, the conception has come under sustained critique from poststructuralist-infl uenced theorists, amongst others, for failing to fully account for the exclusions that result from it being defi ned as a universal norm of public sphere deliberation. This paper examines how this critique may be answered. It does so fi rst by exploring how (sophisticated) deliberative theory can reply to the critique, and second by turning to the poststructuralist-infl uenced critics -specifi cally post-Marxist discourse theorists -and asking how they might provide a way forward. With respect to the fi rst, the paper fi nds that deliberative theory can, and often does, account for the exclusions in question much more than critics suggest, but that there remains concern about the conception's radical democratic status given that exponents (seem to) derive it extra-politically. With respect to the second, the paper fi nds that a post-Marxist discourse theory reading -that embraces radical contingency -of the deliberative public sphere conception provides a purely political framework for theorising deliberative exclusion (and associated politics), and thus off ers an ontological and democratic radicalisation of the public sphere conception. However, given the embrace of radical contingency, and thus acceptance of inelminable power, the paper concludes by indicating that this radicalisation may illicit concern about its radical democratic status.

Discourse Theory as Critical Media Politics? Five Questions

Discourse Theory and Critical Media Politics: An Introduction

Re-constructing digital democracy: An outline of four ‘positions'

There is currently a diversity of understandings of digital democracy being deployed within popul... more There is currently a diversity of understandings of digital democracy being deployed within popular commentary, research, policy making, and practical initiative. However, there is a lack of resources clearly outlining this diversity; this article undertakes such an outline. It provides a reconstruction of four digital democracy positions. These four positions are referred to here as liberal-individualist, deliberative, counter-publics, and autonomist Marxist. The delineation of each position draws from critical-interpretative research and has been developed with respect to three elements: the democratic subject assumed, the related conception of democracy promoted, and the associated democratic affordances of digital media technology. The aim is to draw attention to different understandings of what extending democracy through digital media means, and to provide a framework for further examination and evaluation of digital democracy rhetoric and practice.

Cyber-libertarianism 2.0: A discourse theory/critical political economy examination

Cultural Politics: an International Journal, Jan 1, 2010

Cyber-libertarian discourse has recently made a "come-back" in popular technology and academic di... more Cyber-libertarian discourse has recently made a "come-back" in popular technology and academic discussions about the democratic potential of "Web 2.0." here, becoming a digital citizen means becoming an autonomous and creative "do-it-yourself citizenconsumer." This paper identifies some of the limits of this "cyber-libertarian 2.0" discourse. It does so first by drawing upon post-Marxist discourse theory to outline the central elements of the discourse, and second by contrasting the cyberlibertarian understanding of "the situation" with a critical political economy reading that draws upon Debord's theory of "the LINCOLN DAHLBERG TEACHES AND RESEARCHES IN THE AREAS OF MEDIA POLITICS, CRITICAL THEORY, AND DIGITAL DEMOCRACY. HE HAS PUBLISHED EXTENSIVELY IN THESE AREAS, INCLUDING COEDITOR OF Radical democRacy and the inteRnet (PALGRAVE, 2007) AND discouRse theoRy and cRitical media Politics (PALGRAVE, FORTHCOMING). HE IS CURRENTLY A VISITING RESEARCH FELLOw IN THE MEDIA STUDIES PROGRAM AT THE UNIVERSITY OF QUEENSLAND.

Radical Democracy

Web 2.0 Divides: A Critical Political Economy [URL http://www.cimj.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=269&Itemid=72]

The Internet, deliberative democracy, and power: Radicalizing the public sphere

International Journal of Media &# 38; Cultural …, 2007

Deliberative democratic public sphere theory has become increasingly popular in Internet-democrac... more Deliberative democratic public sphere theory has become increasingly popular in Internet-democracy research and commentary. In terms of informal civic practices, advocates of this theory see the Internet as a means for the expansion of citizen deliberation leading to the formation of rational public opinion through which official decision makers can be held accountable. In this paper I question this public sphere conception as a democratic norm of Internet practice given that there have been sustained critiques of the deliberative conception for failing to account fully for power, and thus for supporting status quo social and political systems. I examine these claims and argue that while the deliberative conception actually pays more attention to power than some critics argue, it fails to adequately theorize the power relations involved in defining what counts as legitimate deliberation. Drawing upon post-Marxist discourse theory, I highlight two inter-related factors that are largely ignored in this boundary setting: discursive radicalism and inter-discursive conflict. I argue that to fully account for these two factors we can refer to an agonistic public sphere position that is also being drawn upon in Internet-democracy research and commentary. In particular, the concept 'counter-publics', which is deployed in such work, helps us take into account the democratic role of radical exclusion and associated counter-discursive struggles over the limits of legitimate deliberation. The result is the radicalization of the public sphere conception. 47 MCP 3 (1) 47-64

Rethinking the fragmentation of the cyberpublic: from consensus to contestation

New Media & Society, Jan 1, 2007

Recently there has been some debate between deliberative democrats about whether the internet is ... more Recently there has been some debate between deliberative democrats about whether the internet is leading to the fragmentation of communication into 'like-minded' groups.This article is concerned with what is held in common by both sides of the debate: a public sphere model that aims for all-inclusive, consensus seeking rational deliberation that eliminates intergroup 'polarizing' politics. It argues that this understanding of deliberative democracy fails to adequately consider the asymmetries of power through which deliberation and consensus are achieved, the inter-subjective basis of meaning, the centrality of respect for difference in democracy, and the democratic role of 'like-minded' deliberative groups.The deliberative public sphere must be rethought to account more fully for these four aspects. The article draws on post-Marxist discourse theory and reconceptualizes the public sphere as a space constituted through discursive contestation.Taking this radicalized norm, it considers what research is needed to understand the democratic implications of the formation of 'like-minded' groups online.

The Internet and discursive exclusion: From deliberative to agonistic public sphere theory

Radical democracy and the Internet: Interrogating …, Jan 1, 2007

The Habermasian public sphere: Taking difference seriously?

Theory and Society, Jan 1, 2005

The public sphere conception continues to hold center stage in debates and visions of radical dem... more The public sphere conception continues to hold center stage in debates and visions of radical democratic society, and Jürgen Habermas' work continues to be the most popular starting point for developing this conception. However, the Habermasian public sphere has also come under powerful and sustained criticism from many quarters. Here I concentrate upon the critiques of a group of theorists to whom I refer as difference democrats. I examine the three key arguments of these critics: that the public sphere conception involves the exclusion of aesthetic-affective modes of communication and hence the voices of certain groups; that it assumes that power can be separated from public discourse, which masks exclusion and domination; and that it promotes consensus as the purpose of deliberation, which marginalizes voices that do not readily agree. Against these claims I show that the Habermasian public sphere can be read as maximizing the inclusion of difference in deliberative exchange. I demonstrate how the conception extensively accommodates aesthetic-affective modes of discourse, how it accounts for both negative and positive forms of power in discourse, and how it promotes the process over the end-point of rational discourse in public opinion formation.

Libertarian Cyber-Utopianism and Globalization

In, El-Oleili and Hayden (Eds). 2009. Utopia and Globalisation (pp176-189). Basingstoke: Palgrave.

Discourse Theory and Critical Media Politics

by Lincoln Dahlberg and Sean Phelan

Radical Democracy and the Internet: Interrogating Theory and Practice

Facebook's Response to its Democratic Discontents: Quality initiatives, ideology, and education's role

Chapter from the book: Stocchetti, M. The Digital Age and Its Discontents: Critical Reflections in Education. (pp. 69–94). Helsinki: Helsinki University Press., 2020

Visibility and The Public Sphere: A Normative Conceptualisation [Forthcoming, URL here for free paper for first 50 downloads]

Javnost - The Public, 2018

The concept of visibility has been associated with the public sphere conception for a long time. ... more The concept of visibility has been associated with the public sphere conception for a long time. However, the public sphere has not been explicitly defined in terms of visibility. This paper reconstructs from a range of relevant critical and poststructuralist theory a set of public sphere conditions for which the concept of visibility, drawing upon a variety of its connotations, can be understood as central. The paper also suggests roles that communications media, and particularly the new digital “social media,” can play in the conditions’ realisation and identifies some of the current impediments to the fulfilment of these roles.

Cyberlibertarianism

Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Communication, Oct 2017

Cyberlibertarianism, broadly speaking, refers to a discourse that claims that the Internet and re... more Cyberlibertarianism, broadly speaking, refers to a discourse that claims that the Internet and related digital media technology can and should constitute spaces of individual liberty. Liberty here is understood as non-interference such that individuals are able to act and express themselves as they choose, and thus are self-governed, where interference is understood as most readily emanating from governments but also at times from corporations, particularly crony-capitalist ones. Various strands of this discourse have developed over the last few decades. These strands differ in the weight that they place on technology, markets, policy, and law for securing cyberspace as a space of, and for, individual freedom.

Expanding Digital Divides Research: A Critical Political Economy of Social Media

Available at http://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/2hne56tBvdQSTMGfmisb/full

Capitalism as a Discursive System? Interrogating Discourse Theory’s Contribution to Critical Political Economy

Critical Discourse Studies

Discourse theory posits capitalism as a radically contingent discursive system constituted throug... more Discourse theory posits capitalism as a radically contingent discursive system constituted through hegemonic practice. This paper asks what this discursive conception means for the critical analysis of capitalism. To answer this question, the paper first outlines the ways by which this discursive conceptualization enables a critical political economy of capitalist systems: namely by enabling a theorization of how such systems are hegemonically constituted, are ideologically maintained, become prone to crises, and may be contested. The paper then examines how this discursive conceptualization might account for the workings and dynamics, including cause -effect relations, of capitalism. That is, the paper examines if and how discourse theory can contribute to a critical political economy of capitalist systems. This examination draws upon and develops the concept of social logics. The paper concludes by suggesting that discourse theory can 'supplement' the critique of capitalist systems.

The Habermasian Public Sphere and Exclusion: An Engagement with Poststructuralist-Influenced Critics

Communication Theory, 2014

One trenchant critique of the Habermasian public sphere conception, voiced particularly strongly ... more One trenchant critique of the Habermasian public sphere conception, voiced particularly strongly by poststructuralist-influenced critics, is that it fails to fully account for exclusion. In this article I examine the strength of this critique. I begin by demonstrating how Habermasians have in many ways already theorized public sphere exclusion. Given this, I ask what is left of the poststructuralist-inspired critique. I argue that what is left is a deep disagreement with Habermasians about the grounding of the public sphere conception. I subsequently ask what difference, and moreover what positive contribution, a poststructuralist (rather than a Habermasian) grounding can make for understanding public sphere exclusion and associated politics.

Exclusions of the Public Spere Conception: Examining Deliberative and Discourse Theory Accounts

The deliberative conception of the public sphere has proven popular in the critical evaluation of... more The deliberative conception of the public sphere has proven popular in the critical evaluation of the democratic role of media and communication. However, the conception has come under sustained critique from poststructuralist-infl uenced theorists, amongst others, for failing to fully account for the exclusions that result from it being defi ned as a universal norm of public sphere deliberation. This paper examines how this critique may be answered. It does so fi rst by exploring how (sophisticated) deliberative theory can reply to the critique, and second by turning to the poststructuralist-infl uenced critics -specifi cally post-Marxist discourse theorists -and asking how they might provide a way forward. With respect to the fi rst, the paper fi nds that deliberative theory can, and often does, account for the exclusions in question much more than critics suggest, but that there remains concern about the conception's radical democratic status given that exponents (seem to) derive it extra-politically. With respect to the second, the paper fi nds that a post-Marxist discourse theory reading -that embraces radical contingency -of the deliberative public sphere conception provides a purely political framework for theorising deliberative exclusion (and associated politics), and thus off ers an ontological and democratic radicalisation of the public sphere conception. However, given the embrace of radical contingency, and thus acceptance of inelminable power, the paper concludes by indicating that this radicalisation may illicit concern about its radical democratic status.

Discourse Theory as Critical Media Politics? Five Questions

Discourse Theory and Critical Media Politics: An Introduction

Re-constructing digital democracy: An outline of four ‘positions'

There is currently a diversity of understandings of digital democracy being deployed within popul... more There is currently a diversity of understandings of digital democracy being deployed within popular commentary, research, policy making, and practical initiative. However, there is a lack of resources clearly outlining this diversity; this article undertakes such an outline. It provides a reconstruction of four digital democracy positions. These four positions are referred to here as liberal-individualist, deliberative, counter-publics, and autonomist Marxist. The delineation of each position draws from critical-interpretative research and has been developed with respect to three elements: the democratic subject assumed, the related conception of democracy promoted, and the associated democratic affordances of digital media technology. The aim is to draw attention to different understandings of what extending democracy through digital media means, and to provide a framework for further examination and evaluation of digital democracy rhetoric and practice.

Cyber-libertarianism 2.0: A discourse theory/critical political economy examination

Cultural Politics: an International Journal, Jan 1, 2010

Cyber-libertarian discourse has recently made a "come-back" in popular technology and academic di... more Cyber-libertarian discourse has recently made a "come-back" in popular technology and academic discussions about the democratic potential of "Web 2.0." here, becoming a digital citizen means becoming an autonomous and creative "do-it-yourself citizenconsumer." This paper identifies some of the limits of this "cyber-libertarian 2.0" discourse. It does so first by drawing upon post-Marxist discourse theory to outline the central elements of the discourse, and second by contrasting the cyberlibertarian understanding of "the situation" with a critical political economy reading that draws upon Debord's theory of "the LINCOLN DAHLBERG TEACHES AND RESEARCHES IN THE AREAS OF MEDIA POLITICS, CRITICAL THEORY, AND DIGITAL DEMOCRACY. HE HAS PUBLISHED EXTENSIVELY IN THESE AREAS, INCLUDING COEDITOR OF Radical democRacy and the inteRnet (PALGRAVE, 2007) AND discouRse theoRy and cRitical media Politics (PALGRAVE, FORTHCOMING). HE IS CURRENTLY A VISITING RESEARCH FELLOw IN THE MEDIA STUDIES PROGRAM AT THE UNIVERSITY OF QUEENSLAND.

Radical Democracy

Web 2.0 Divides: A Critical Political Economy [URL http://www.cimj.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=269&Itemid=72]

The Internet, deliberative democracy, and power: Radicalizing the public sphere

International Journal of Media &# 38; Cultural …, 2007

Deliberative democratic public sphere theory has become increasingly popular in Internet-democrac... more Deliberative democratic public sphere theory has become increasingly popular in Internet-democracy research and commentary. In terms of informal civic practices, advocates of this theory see the Internet as a means for the expansion of citizen deliberation leading to the formation of rational public opinion through which official decision makers can be held accountable. In this paper I question this public sphere conception as a democratic norm of Internet practice given that there have been sustained critiques of the deliberative conception for failing to account fully for power, and thus for supporting status quo social and political systems. I examine these claims and argue that while the deliberative conception actually pays more attention to power than some critics argue, it fails to adequately theorize the power relations involved in defining what counts as legitimate deliberation. Drawing upon post-Marxist discourse theory, I highlight two inter-related factors that are largely ignored in this boundary setting: discursive radicalism and inter-discursive conflict. I argue that to fully account for these two factors we can refer to an agonistic public sphere position that is also being drawn upon in Internet-democracy research and commentary. In particular, the concept 'counter-publics', which is deployed in such work, helps us take into account the democratic role of radical exclusion and associated counter-discursive struggles over the limits of legitimate deliberation. The result is the radicalization of the public sphere conception. 47 MCP 3 (1) 47-64

Rethinking the fragmentation of the cyberpublic: from consensus to contestation

New Media & Society, Jan 1, 2007

Recently there has been some debate between deliberative democrats about whether the internet is ... more Recently there has been some debate between deliberative democrats about whether the internet is leading to the fragmentation of communication into 'like-minded' groups.This article is concerned with what is held in common by both sides of the debate: a public sphere model that aims for all-inclusive, consensus seeking rational deliberation that eliminates intergroup 'polarizing' politics. It argues that this understanding of deliberative democracy fails to adequately consider the asymmetries of power through which deliberation and consensus are achieved, the inter-subjective basis of meaning, the centrality of respect for difference in democracy, and the democratic role of 'like-minded' deliberative groups.The deliberative public sphere must be rethought to account more fully for these four aspects. The article draws on post-Marxist discourse theory and reconceptualizes the public sphere as a space constituted through discursive contestation.Taking this radicalized norm, it considers what research is needed to understand the democratic implications of the formation of 'like-minded' groups online.

The Internet and discursive exclusion: From deliberative to agonistic public sphere theory

Radical democracy and the Internet: Interrogating …, Jan 1, 2007

The Habermasian public sphere: Taking difference seriously?

Theory and Society, Jan 1, 2005

The public sphere conception continues to hold center stage in debates and visions of radical dem... more The public sphere conception continues to hold center stage in debates and visions of radical democratic society, and Jürgen Habermas' work continues to be the most popular starting point for developing this conception. However, the Habermasian public sphere has also come under powerful and sustained criticism from many quarters. Here I concentrate upon the critiques of a group of theorists to whom I refer as difference democrats. I examine the three key arguments of these critics: that the public sphere conception involves the exclusion of aesthetic-affective modes of communication and hence the voices of certain groups; that it assumes that power can be separated from public discourse, which masks exclusion and domination; and that it promotes consensus as the purpose of deliberation, which marginalizes voices that do not readily agree. Against these claims I show that the Habermasian public sphere can be read as maximizing the inclusion of difference in deliberative exchange. I demonstrate how the conception extensively accommodates aesthetic-affective modes of discourse, how it accounts for both negative and positive forms of power in discourse, and how it promotes the process over the end-point of rational discourse in public opinion formation.

Libertarian Cyber-Utopianism and Globalization

In, El-Oleili and Hayden (Eds). 2009. Utopia and Globalisation (pp176-189). Basingstoke: Palgrave.

The Habermasian public sphere: A specification of the idealized conditions of democratic communication

Studies in Social and Political Thought, Jan 1, 2004

Many contemporary political theorists agree that a public sphere of informal citizen deliberation... more Many contemporary political theorists agree that a public sphere of informal citizen deliberation is central to strong democracy. An increasing amount of empirical work is taking place that attempts to critically evaluate the extent to which everyday communication is advancing such a sphere. However, this work is hampered by poorly specified public sphere criteria. In this paper I draw on Habermas' theory of communicative rationality to detail a set of normative conditions of public sphere discourse adequate for critical analysis. Habermas argues that his formal pragmatic analysis of everyday communication illuminates a number of idealizing presuppositions of communicative rationality. From these presuppositions I delineate six public sphere conditions. These conditions include the reasoned exchange of problematic validity claims, reflexivity, ideal role taking, sincerity, formal inclusion and discursive equality, and autonomy from state and corporate power. I do not attempt here to answer possible critiques of these conditions. Instead, I simply focus upon providing a detailed conceptualisation of the Habermasian public sphere for the critical evaluation of everyday communicative practices, a conceptualisation that remains open to further development through subsequent reflection upon public discourse.

Introduction: Tracing radical democracy and the internet

by Lincoln Dahlberg and Eugenia Siapera

Which Social Media? A Call for Contextualization

This essay briefly reflects upon digital social media in the mid-1990s in order to encourage: fir... more This essay briefly reflects upon digital social media in the mid-1990s in order to encourage: first, investigation of pre-twenty first century social media, towards the identification of lessons and resources for present-day research, practice, policy, and activism; and, second, the discursive and socio-historical contextualization of today’s social media.

Cyberlibertarianism

Abstract Cyberlibertarianism is the name given to any discourse that sees the Internet and relate... more Abstract Cyberlibertarianism is the name given to any discourse that sees the Internet and related digital media technology as paving the way to individual liberty free from centralized bureaucratic systems. Of those digital media commentators and practitioners who can be categorised as cyberlibertarian, many argue that liberty is realized through Internet communication escaping governments and enhancing free markets. However, there are also other forms of cyberlibertarianism that do not so readily embrace free markets, including an anarchist variety that sees the Internet as enabling freedom through bypassing not just governments but also capitalist systems. This encyclopaedia entry will discuss the meaning of the term cyberlibertarianism by sketching its various historical articulations.

Radical Democracy in Contemporary Times [URL here]

e-international relations, 2013

Libertarian Cyber-Utopia (commentary)

International Journal of Media & Cultural Poliitcs. Volume 5 Issue 3. 239-244, Jan 1, 2009

The Internet as public sphere or culture industry? From pessimism to hope and back

International Journal of Media &# 38; Cultural …, Jan 1, 2005

The vision of communication systems supporting public sphere(s) of discursive contestation has in... more The vision of communication systems supporting public sphere(s) of discursive contestation has in recent times been embraced by many critical theorists as the ideal democratic role for the media. However, there has also been much pessimism about the realization of this vision. This pessimism extends from 'big brother' fears to hyperrealist scenarios -from the development of a global surveillance society to the implosion of reality in an electronically generated and sustained system of pure fabrication.

2002 'Review Essay of Barney's Prometheus Wired: The hope for democracy in the age of network technology', New Political Science: A Journal of Politics & Culture. 24 (1): 151-152.

Democratic participation through the Internet: A brief survey [URL here]

Media/Culture Reviews, 2000

Much has been said over the last decade about the Internet facilitating democratic participation.... more

Review of: Jürgen Habermas: Democracy and the public sphere Goode, L. (2005). London: Pluto Press.

Review: Mark Poster, Information Please: Culture and Politics in the Age of Digital Machines (Duke University Press: Durham and London, 2006)

Thesis Eleven, Jan 1, 2007

Durham and London, Duke University Press. Review by Lincoln Dahlberg School of Journalism and Com... more Durham and London, Duke University Press. Review by Lincoln Dahlberg School of Journalism and Communications University of Queensland Over the past couple of decades, Mark Poster has established himself as one of the leading theorists of 'new media'. His latest book continues the themes and arguments, as well as the theoretical strength and lucidity of his previous work. Information Please is divided into three parts of four chapters each -global politics, the culture of the digital self, and digital commodities and everyday life. Each chapter (all but one previously published) focuses on different aspects of new media and society, and particularly the Internet, while consistently developing Poster's general argument in relation to digital media. This argument is that information and communication systems in general, and the Internet in particular, are not adequately accounted for in theories of postcoloniality, globalization, democracy, citizenship, and control. Poster critiques a range of major theorists, from Appaduri to Hardt and Negri to Lefebvre to De Certeau for not understanding or fully appreciating the nature and transforming effects of new digital communications. For Poster, 'new media' are indeed new -they are novel in form and effect and need to be fully accounted for in social theory. In the case of digital communications media, using a networked computer means deploying zeros and ones moving, in principle, near the speed of light, a very different physical world from that of the spoken voice or the printed page. The consequence of culture transformed into electronic digits is that the world has turned upside down, with many of our assumptions put into question about time and space, body and mind, human and machine, subject and object, gender, race, and class. (p. 51)

James Slevin, The Internet and Society (Cambridge: Polity Press, 2000), 266pp. ISBN 0-7456-2086-8

… : The International Journal of Research into New …, Jan 1, 2001

James Slevin, The Internet and Society, (Cambridge: Polity Press, 2000) 266 pp. ISBN 0 7456 2086 8.

Tim Jordan, Cyberpower: The Culture and Politics of Cyberspace and the Internet (London: Routledge, 1999), 248pp. ISBN 0 415 17077 X (hbk), 0 415 17078 8 (pbk

… : The International Journal of Research into New …, Jan 1, 2000

2003 Bauman, Z and Tester, K. Conversations with Zygmunt Bauman. In New Zealand Sociology 18 (2): 272-274.

2004 Bauman, Z. Society Under Siege. New Zealand Sociology 19 (1): 172-176

INTRODUCTION Post-Marxist discourse theory and critical political economy

by Sean Phelan and Lincoln Dahlberg

Critical Discourse Studies, 11 (3), Aug 1, 2014

The basic story is already well known. In their 1985 book Hegemony and socialist strategy, Lacla... more The basic story is already well known. In their 1985 book
Hegemony and socialist strategy, Laclau and Mouffe (2001) claim a radical break with those Marxist theories grounded in economic essentialism in which economic forms and contradictions are identified as the primary historical determiner of social transformations and identities. Instead, they insist on the ontological primacy of ‘the political’, interrogating the positioning of politics, culture, ideology, and discourse as epiphenomenal and superstructural. They named their reflections as post-Marxist discourse theory, recognizing how their approach draws upon certain ‘intuitions’ within Marxism while distancing themselves from others.

Cultural Studies in Aotearoa

The Internet and the public sphere: a critical analysis of the possibility of online discourse enhancing deliberative democracy: a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of …

Digital Divides Reconceived: From the context of users to the context of the technology

This paper argues that the generally accepted meaning of “digital divides” overlooks and actually... more This paper argues that the generally accepted meaning of “digital divides” overlooks and actually obscures some significant inequalities in digital empowerment, those following from the “context of the technology.” To make this argument it examines the impact on digital empowerment of the domination of social media ownership by a few for-profit corporations. The paper concludes by proposing a reconceptualization of the meaning of digital divides that takes into account these contexts and associated inequalities.