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Habermas's late theory of the public sphere is fundamentally about democracy and growing complexity. The network form is at the core of growing complexity, and centrality of networks in the economy, political system, civil society, and the lifeworld calls for revisions in central theoretical assumptions about the structure of the public sphere. We argue that in order to maintain Habermas's larger democratic project, we will have to rethink theoretical assumptions linked to its neo-Parsonsian systems theoretical foundations and to systematically integrate new network forms of social life into theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Looks at the concept of `electronic democracy,' which is democracy enhanced by information technologies. Information on the growth of the private information infrastructure; Looks at the plebiscitary and the deliberative frameworks that dominated United States discussion; Yielding of models; Suggestions from these models.