Civil Society in the New Public Sphere

SPOILER ALERT: I touched on this question in my midterm exam, but it is a question I'd like to spend a little more time on.

This year we have seen several incidences where movement have arisen, largely through the grassroots (there's that word again). At the beginning of the year we saw this in Egypt and throughout the Middle East during the Arab Spring. From the spring and into the summer we saw the News of the World "phone hacking" scandal rock Rupert Murdoch and NewsCorp. And most recently, the #occupy movement has grown over the course of the last month and has now "gone global."

The common thread between the three of these movements is that they have played a significant role in shaping the debate in the new public sphere without the help of civil society. In fact, traditional groups and organizations within civil society have, for the most part, been conspicuous in their absence. In Egypt, civil society was rigidly controlled by the Mubarak regime. The phone hacking scandal is actually old news that was largely ignored by the media and independent organizations until it was revealed that the tabloid paper knowingly impeded a police investigation in a high profile murder case. With the #occupy movement, there is a sense of suspicion and dismissal from the media coverage and only muted support from unions and organizations.

While you could perhaps argue with my characterizations of the participation of the civil society in these three cases, however, what is more certain is that in none of these movements did civil society lead the debate and shape it. Is this coincidence, or is it evidence of a developing trend?  Is individual public diplomacy replacing traditional groups in the civil society? Is this a good thing?

Assuming for a moment that this is illustrative of a trend in communications, then I am not entirely sure that it is a good thing. Civil Society is the go-between for the public and the government and it is far more challenging to individually create the awareness necessary to shift the conversation in the public sphere. That said, I appreciate that the evidence of this year suggests that it is increasingly possible for public to control the debate within the public sphere. It is interesting to see what happens next and I look forward to hearing from the leaders of the April 6th movement tomorrow and hear what they have to say about shifting the debate in the public sphere and inspiring change in their country.