Global theory, local reality: revisiting Habermas through the lens of the Kazakhstani media context

Abstract

Habermas defines the public sphere as a realm that mediates between society and the state, in which citizens freely and openly communicate issues of general interest to influence their own collective social future through an open democratic process, as outlined in his 1989 version of The Public Sphere. Through the sociological analysis of the historical transformation of the public sphere, Habermas sought to identify concrete, “visible" ways for citizens to create a system that would enable them to influence their own future cooperatively through peaceful democracy. This paper revisits the selected arguments of Habermas's public sphere theory to explore how they can be valuable for the analysis of contemporary Kazakhstan’s media context. Using the theory of the public sphere as a theoretical lens, and an exploratory case study, along with logical reasoning as a method of inquiry, the author analyzes and discusses how ideas of Habermas's public sphere theory can be productively applied to existing challenges in Kazakhstan. The results of the analysis suggest that the concept of the public sphere has substantial potential as a valuable framework for investigating the current tasks in the media and communication domain of this Central Asian emerging nation.