PUBLIC ARENAS

How does the combination of democratization and violence shape the public sphere? This should entail an enlargement of the public sphere and an increase in public deliberation. Since framing is a powerful tool in determining the scope and contents of public debate, what role does framing play in democratizing public spheres? Taking the state of Veracruz (Mexico) as a case study, we explore to what extent do print media allow for an enlargement of the public sphere in terms of both admissible participants and issues. We argue that framing practices contribute to a paradoxical situation in which deliberation takes place, but whose democratic character is severely compromised by the systematic exclusion of certain actors and the subordinate framing of certain issues in the media. The result is a hybrid public sphere in which ostensibly democratic media help normalize violence, authoritarian practices and traditional domination patterns.

This article explores the debate in the public arena of electoral corruption in Brazil, from a pragmatic sociology perspective, to map and unfold its main disputes.

This study aims to understand how civil society organizations (CSOs) perform and influence public arenas.

This article proposes a new theoretical approach for the study of social innovation processes promoted by civil society actors in the public sphere, based on French pragmatic sociology.

In recent decades, the Brazilian Movement Against Electoral Corruption (MCCE) has been promoting social innovation in the public sphere, which led to mobilization towards the creation of two popular initiatives in Brazil