Public Spheres and Mediated Social Networks in the Western Context and Beyond

Introduction.- Part One.Theory and Practice.- 1.Social Media, Public Sphere and Democracy.- 2.The Political Economy of Social Media.- 3.Western Media Policy Frameworks and Values.- Part Two.Western Liberal Democratic Traditions, Grassroots Politics and the Social Media.- 4.Modern Political Communication and Web 2.0 in Representative Democracies: the United States and the British Experience.- 5.The Public Sphere and Network Democracy: the Arab Spring, WikiLeaks and the Edward Snowden Revelations.- 6.Public Diplomacy 2.0 and the Social Media.- Part Three.The rise of the BRICS and on-line interest.- 7.Russia and China: Autocratic and On-line.- 8.India and South Africa; Post-colonial Power, Democratization and the Online Community.- 9.Japan, South Korea, Brazil: Post-industrial Societies; Hard and Software.- 10.The Social Media and the Middle East.- 11.Conclusion