An Evaluation of Jurgen Habermas' Concept of the Public Sphere, the Pathology of Power and its Implication for African Politics

Abstract

he problems of contemporary human society are the problems of social exclusivity, distorted social system and social relations. Habermas's concept of the public sphere is still alive and well in the twenty-first T century. Of particular contemporary interest to us is the contextualization of the public sphere as the rationalization of social category The concept emphasizes the importance of law and socio-political order. The concept of the public sphere ought to be a realm of freedom, permanence and the realm of political participation which has become of great intellectual concern to scholars in the contemporary world. This paper adopts the analytical framework in navigating through the murky waters of social exclusivity, social relations and social system in African politics. The concept of the public sphere and its re-orientation to African politics and Nigerian democratic agenda reveals the contemporary ailment-political logjam in African democracy. Unfortunately though, the Nigerian state is in want of an authentic leadership philosophy that will strengthen democratic institutions and establish a nation worth living in and dying for. This paper, therefore, calls for a re-orientation of African politics and democratic agenda in Nigerian politics. It aims at re addressing contextual issues surrounding African politics and the democratic agenda in Nigerian politics caused by lack of principled, ethical leadership, accountability, and transparency. The paper, concludes that the lessons and implications of the Habermasian tradition of the public sphere evokes the need for public debate for the sake of mutual interests and common good in contemporary democratic citizenship. The public sphere should reflect the need for a discursive formation of the will of private persons