Translating in the public sphere: Birth pangs of a developing democracy in today's Russia

Abstract

This article considers the role of translation in the public sphere. Although sociologists theorise the public sphere as a locus of social debate, they hardly ever consider the role translation plays or may play in securing a dialogue between the parties involved. Drawing on the theory of the public sphere as elaborated by the modernist school (whose most influential representative is Jürgen Habermas) and further developed by the postmodernist school (represented here by Alan McKee), the article considers the dramatic consequences of the failure to give full consideration to translation as a major factor in the public sphere, especially in countries with developing democracies, such as present-day Putinite Russia.