Organizations, democracy, and the public sphere: The implications of democratic (r)evolution at a nuclear weapons facility

Abstract

This article examines the potential of democratic processes to transform even the most bureaucratically mired organization into an organization that has a more constructive relationship with its stakeholders and better represents and furthers the democratic ideals to which U.S. society aspires. After discussing Habermas's concept of the public sphere, the principle theoretical development focuses on the idea of organizations as the new public sphere; the issues addressed are whether or not they should be the public sphere and thus the role of organizations in a democratic society. These concepts are illustrated through a case study of the communication practices at the U.S. Department of Energy nuclear weapons facility at Fernald, Ohio. Finally, using the feminist critique of the public sphere to refine that concept, the article concludes that before organizations can become the new public sphere and function in the spirit of that concept, they must become more broadly democratic.