A networked public: formal and relational approaches to the public sphere

The purpose of this paper is to explore the potential for conceptualizing the public sphere through the tools of network analysis.

To do so, this paper combines comparative historical analysis of the early modern expansion of the public sphere with a review of relevant literature and logical exposition.

The paper develops several hypotheses about the potential of the approach and areas that may require advances in methodology and additional theoretical development.

The paper encourages the development and use of formal approaches for the analysis and conceptualization of the public sphere.