What kind of public sphere is possible in the European Union with its considerable diversity of
national identities languages and media systems? Against the backdrop of debates about a
fundamental European community deficit and the possibility of postnational democracy this book
explores the role of a European public sphere not only in bridging presumed gaps between
citizens and their representatives in the European institutions but also in creating
transnational communicative spaces that contribute to the politicization of EU politics.Drawing
on Deweyan pragmatism social constructivism and the Habermasian notion of constitutional
patriotism this book moves beyond the conventional wisdom that a European public sphere
necessitates the existence of a sense of European identity light . Arguing that a political
sense of community along the lines of a European constitutional patriotism can only emerge out
of the democratic process itself Maximilian Conrad looks at the role of daily newspapers not
only as framers of public debate but also as actors with distinct normative views regarding
the future of the integration process both in terms of the nature of the EU as a polity and
the nature of democratic rule in this polity. The crucial empirical question addressed in the
book is: Do newspapers with a pronounced preference for more democracy beyond the nation state
also play a more active role in providing forums for transnational debate?
