Analyzing "The Political" in Cyberspace From Arendt's Perspective *

As we are convinced about the role and impact of cyberspace and online social networks in human life today, we are more or less equally skeptical about the possibilities, capabilities, and effectiveness of cyberspace for political, democratic and civic change. Particularly in the area of political theory, we need to think carefully about cyberspace through the wisdom and political theories to gain a proper understanding of the possibilities of online social networking for politics. This article is a research on the political possibilities of online social networks and evaluating the political implications of cyberspace from an Arendt perspective and its possible placement in the public domain or a virtual agora in relation to Arendt's concepts and minutes of politics. In this assessment, we analyze Hannah Arendt's perception of the political and try to clarify whether virtual social networks can facilitate real political action in a meaningful way or not. In other words, Are virtual networks for politics, opportunity or anti-political and threat? This study shows that while politics from Arendt perspective is inter-disciplinary, pluralistic, participatory, linguistic and dialogic, cyberspace and online social networks are more dominant in personal desires and livelihoods, inappropriateness, overcoming. The social, homogeneous and anti-pluralistic features make their political possibilities in serious doubt.