Abstract

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Title:: Development of the Networked Public Sphere and Construction ofNew Political and Social Relations

Keywords:: networked public sphere; political and social relations; social governance; social media; culturalleadership

Abstract:: Modern thinkers have formed two different standpoints（ i.e. social ontology and national ontology）about the relationship between state and society. But in fact， concerning the relationship between the stateas the supreme public institution and the civil society，the issue of which goes first is closely related to theconception of public sphere. The notion of public sphere refers to the field where the citizens’ discussions onnational activities can form public opinions. The core of public sphere is the opinion field formed by the ideasthat can lead the social mentality through the mediation by the mass media. The rise of the Internet has causedgreat changes in traditional social relations. The most notable is due to the development of social media inthe new networked public sphere. The construction of a new type of relationship between state and society inline with the era of the Internet requires the effective governance of the networked political public sphere. Themost important is that the government should explore the consensus space where different social groups onthe Internet can have a dialogue and play a decisive role in making the rules governing the production of thenetwork public opinions，setting the public agenda and safeguarding the public rules. All this can help form thepositive network public opinions，which can be employed to take the cultural leadership.