This book explores updated concepts of systemic thinking and the foundations of deliberative politics in the face of crises of democratic legitimacy and ruptures in the public sphere. After 2016, it has become increasingly clear that deliberative democracy has experienced a new turn, with the rise of populist and illiberal policies, authoritarian leaders and mobilization of angry citizens gaining ground in various Western and non-Western democracies. The book argues that a systemic approach allows us to investigate complex exchanges between elite actors in legislative forums, the mass media, activist organizations, and the everyday discussions of ordinary citizens. Articulating these issues in conjunction with the media and political communication literature seems even more relevant in the contemporary scenario of uncertainty, in order to highlight threats and disruptions in the public sphere that undermine democracy. This book explores the main theoretical controversies of system thinking and combines macro and microanalysis to advance empirically driven research on several fronts. weiterlesen