線上全球公共領域？網路的潛能、實踐與限制

Abstract

因為能提供近用成本相對低廉的跨國傳播，網路具有發展成為「全球公共領域」的潛能。本文透過相關文獻探討，分析當前網路如何在實際上塑造出跨國論壇，及其在實現全球公共領域上的限制所在。以議題為導向的各種非政府組織及國際機構，是目前網路跨國論壇的主要參與者，因此也引領著網路朝向以議題為切割的「多元」全球公共領域發展。本文認為，未來的全球公共領域應該是由地方、國家至國際間不同層次的個人及團體互動，以議題為導向的多元討論空間；網路雖然有助於其形成，但包括網路目前的數位落差、碎裂化、商業化、以及英語霸權等面向所造成的不平等，仍限制著這個新傳播科技型塑全球性民主討論的可能。因此，目前網路上的跨國論壇，僅止於創造了新的全球「廣場」，尚未實現公共領域的理想。

This paper aims to analyze the implication and limitation of the Internet on the formation of the global public sphere. The emergence and prevalence of the Internet have revised the concept of the public sphere and have contributed to the development of the global public sphere. Therefore, through a review of recent research on this issue, we examine how the Internet works as a global public sphere. Unlike the traditional nation-state public sphere that is based on the concept of media and civil right, the global public sphere highlights the unit of international institution and NGOs and their interaction through the Internet. We argue that the global public sphere is a diverse space in which individuals and groups communicate to each other in the local, national and international levels. The technological characters of the Internet help to develop the global public sphere, however, some practical problems of the new technology still set barriers for the further development of this sphere. These problems include the segmentation, commercialization, unequal use and English hegemony of the Internet.