Social movements and the Transnational Transformation of Public Spheres

This article presents a theoretical framework for the empirical study of social movements as agents in the transnational transformation of public spheres. It draws on the existing literature on transnationalization of public spheres, which predominantly focuses on the broadcast media as carriers of the public sphere, to conceptualize transnational public spheres and mechanisms of public sphere transformation and to identify indicators for measuring the degree of that transformation. It then turns to argue that conceptualization of transnational public spaces as complex, multilayered, and overlapping permits analysis of social movements as agents of public sphere transformation in the form of actors or arenas, either within transnational spaces or through more routine forms of contestation within the nation state. I then adapt indicators developed to measure the degree of transnationalization of public spheres and illustrate their applicability for the study of social movements using contemporary examples of movement practices and discourses.