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Globalization and Democracy 225

widely discussed in the UK media, for example. Nevertheless, as we saw
in chapter 2 , the way in which the global media is organized does not
facilitate systematic and in - depth discussion across national borders, as
news is selected and edited to appeal to the existing preferences of ever

narrower audiences. Indeed, it would be difficult to imagine how com-
mercial media might organize a global public sphere even if the executives
of global media corporations aimed to do so. Given differences of lan-
guage and political culture, including the ways people prefer to access

news media, and conflicting interpretations of the history and uneven
development of globalization, it is far from obvious how everyone in the
world might become interested in discussing the same fundamental issues
across borders.
Nevertheless, some see the Internet as offering new possibilities for the
formation of a global public sphere. James Bohman argues that it could
enable what he calls a “ public of publics ” ; it need not enable online dis-
cussion by “ all affected ” all together as long as it linked overlapping and
interacting “ leaky ” mediated publics in which free and fair discussion was
taking place (Bohman, 2007 : 77). The Internet does enable communica-
tion in ways that are promising for the development of a global public
sphere as a “ public of publics. ” It is certainly “ deterritorialized, ” func-
tioning largely without regard for state borders. Although governments
everywhere supervise the Internet, and it is possible to block access to
some websites, it is impossible to close it down completely. Nor, Castells
argues, is it possible to regulate the Internet by prosecuting users who
defy regulations: there are simply too many people now using it in too
many different places for too many different purposes. In addition, the
Internet offers possibilities for online participation that non - digital media
do not, with the creation of virtual spaces in which people contribute
blogs to discussion - mailing lists and website postings, and put up pod-
casts, photographs, and videos to communicate with each other, wherever
they are in the world. The Internet facilitates what Castells calls mass
self - communication: in comparison with mass media, which was one - way,
produced by a few and broadcast to a mass audience who could only
select what to watch or listen to from a narrow range digital technology
enables self - generated communication for an audience of individuals who
have control over what they select and how they respond interactively to
the diversity of what is available (Castells, 2009 : 55).
On the other hand, however, the Internet is still far more available to
people living in some places than elsewhere. Even if the digital divide
between those who have regular access to computers and those who do
not is shrinking, as Castells argues, insofar as it maps onto the global