Julian Nida-Rümelin

Democracy and the new media

Despite the emphasis that theories of democracy put on consensus, dissent belongs to democracy either. The point is that we need to understand whether the emerging new media, in particular the social media, have an impact on the relation between democracy and dissent. The research will provide an analysis of the concepts of dissent, consent, and truth and its recent transformations caused by the diffusion of these technologies in Western democracies. The thesis, that this research will attempt to articulate, is that emergent technologies could support dissent and therefore the practice of participation that are conducive to strengthen democracy provided that these technologies do not undermine the authenticity and veracity of the communication that are critical features of democracy as form of life and not merely as form of government.

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