Globalization and its relationship to public governance is one of the key issues of our time. In this book, experts from a number of disciplines attempt to define what these two terms mean and, perhaps even more importantly, what they do not. Taking as a starting point that globalization is neither the take-over of political power by multi-national 'stateless' enterprises, nor the chaotic unstructured process of dissolution of public order, the contributors suggest that what is occurring is more institutionalized than many critics would admit. It is argued that there are important transnational and supra-national elements of a new public order, which remain beyond the traditional borders of the state, but not completely beyond the state as such. Globalization, as opposed to former developments in the internationalization of the economy, is characterized by its transnational form, i.e. it is based on exchange processes which, to a greater or lesser degree, bypass both the state and the traditional international character of the world economy of the past.

Globalization and its relationship to public governance is one of the key issues of our time. In this book, experts from a number of disciplines attempt to define what these two terms mean and, perhaps even more importantly, what they do not. Taking as a starting point that globalization is neither the take-over of political power by multi-national 'stateless' enterprises, nor the chaotic unstructured process of dissolution of public order, the contributors suggest that what is occurring is more institutionalized than many critics would admit. It is argued that there are important transnational and supra-national elements of a new public order, which remain beyond the traditional borders of the state, but not completely beyond the state as such. Globalization, as opposed to former developments in the internationalization of the economy, is characterized by its transnational form, i.e. it is based on exchange processes which, to a greater or lesser degree, bypass both the state and the traditional international character of the world economy of the past.

Medien gestalten eine Gesellschaft mindestens so grundlegend wie umgekehrt. Durch ihre Digitalisierung ändern sich die Bedingungen von Individualität, Meinungsbildung und Öffentlichkeit gleichermaßen. Die neuen Intermediäre, über die sich Sozialität im Digitalen konstituiert, sind zugleich die zentralen Akteure der Digitalwirtschaft. Die Möglichkeitsräume der Zukunft werden scheinbar maßgeblich durch sie generiert. Was aber wird dann aus den in der analogen Welt entstandenen Konzepten von Privatheit oder Vielfaltssicherung? Was aus den Kommunikationsgrundrechten? Sind zu ihrem Schutz im Internet gar völlig neue Institutionen erforderlich? In der Gesellschaft der Netzwerke geraten praktisch alle Begriffe des Medienrechts unter Veränderungsdruck. Der Vortrag von Karl-Heinz Ladeur und die Kommentare von Christoph Beat Graber und Albert Ingold machen sich daher auf die Suche nach der Zukunft der Medienverfassung.