Abstract
The dual function of the internet - which has recently become more and more evident - is to free the political public sphere from the traditional dominance of "bequeathed" monological downward communication on the one hand, and to provide a polyvalent platform on which all forms of technically supported communication can be processed and merged without media breaks on the other. Thanks to the time-independent availability of all content, the internet public also distinguishes itself through a historical depth dimension that sharply contrasts with the short-term topicality orientation of conventional media. However, the immense expansion of low-threshold public participation opportunities and (spontaneously-individually determined) interactive horizontal communications is offset by much smaller gains in collective organisational and action capacity, because digital political engagements remain comparatively non-committal and because no formalised structures usually emerge in the campaign stage, as they are necessary for the subsequent stages of active conflict resolution and policy realisation. Since traditional elites hardly participate in online communication, no integrated overall public sphere has yet emerged that combines the advantages of mass media diffusion and digital communication.
