Creating Public Spaces and Practiced Places for Democracy, Discourse, and the Emergence of Civil Society

Abstract

A question before us in the process of creating public spaces and practiced places for democracy and civil society concerns what democracy means for civil society and what civil society means for democratization of the national state in a globalizing world? In this article the author discusses the meaning of democracy and civil society, and the relation each shares. Following, the author examines the nature of space through the work of [Lefebvre H (1991) The production of space. (Trans. Donald Nicholson-Smith). Blackwell, Oxford, Cambridge, Mass] drawing on the work of the French theorist to construct a tripartite model of public space. As well, the author examines the notion of creating practiced places for democracy civil society, drawing on the work of [de Certeau M (1984) The practice of everyday life. University of California Press, Berkeley] to understand the interplay of discourse in reconfiguring space as a practiced place. The author also examines social space and power-geometry as it relates to creating public spaces and practiced places for democracy and civil society. In the final section, the author provides reflections on the work that lies ahead for democratization of the nation-state and the emergence of democratic civil society.