Public sphere in China and japan Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Public sphere in China and japan - Term Paper Example ct for social investigation, but rather a subject for historical report due to their deep cultural heritage and political traditions carefully preserved by them. However, such preservation can’t be considered to be always positive, because it delays the modernization and development. According to Briggs & Burke, (2005),   â€Å"in China and Japan alike, print was controlled more closely by the state than in Europe,  delaying the development of a public sphere for centuries† (pp. 85-6). The given paper will discuss this statement and prove that the governmental control of media really delays the development of public sphere. Such supervision also does not allow to introduce democratic principles. It will also be discussed how new kinds of media can influence the public sphere in China and Japan. It is possible to assume that media play the most important role in the development of public sphere. They are not simply an impartial partaker or an emotional reporter. On the contrary, they represent an evaluator of the situation or a modernizer of the present social balance. According to Habermas (2001), â€Å"By ‘the public sphere’ we mean first of all a realm of our social life in which something approaching public opinion can be formed. Access is guaranteed to all citizens.† p. 102 The disagreement or group effort of the media with strength that tries to take over the public area turns up in this environment. The connection between the country and the media, either as counteractive or as harmonizing, is affected by the character of government’s interference (Rheingold, 1993). This interference has a long history. The attempts to permeate the public area have been constantly suppressed by the government that in many countries delayed the development of the public sphere and the creation of democratic society. The function of media in building the democratic society is explained by Curran (1991): According to classical liberal theory, the public sphere (or, in