Table of Contents

1. The European Union and the Public Sphere: A Communicative Space in the Making?
Part 1: Communicative Practices and a European Public Sphere 2. Conceptualizing European Public Spheres: General, Segmented and Strong Publics 3. The Public Sphere and European Democracy: Mechanisms of Democratization in the Transnational Situation 4. A Fragile Cosmopolitanism: On the Unresolved Ambiguities of the European Public Sphere Part 2: Assessing Europe’s General Public(s) 5. ‘Quo Vadis Europe?’ Quality Newspapers Struggling for European Unity 6. Political Communication, European Integration and the Transformation of National Public Spheres: A Comparison of Britain and France 7. The European Void: The Democratic Deficit as a Cultural Deficiency 8. Political Integration in Europe and the Need for a Common Political Language 9. EU Enlargement, Identity and the Public Sphere 10. Religion and the European Public Sphere 11. The Public Sphere in European Constitution-Making Part 3: Institutional Conditions and the European Context 12. European Commissioners and the Prospects of a European Public Sphere: Information, Representation and Legitimacy 13. Transparency, Audiences and the Evolving Role of the EU Council of Ministers 14. Transnationalising the Public Sphere? The European Parliament, Promises and Anticipations 15. Conclusion