Public–Private Divide

The public–private divide is a powerful dichotomy, informing much governmental decision-making, action, and policymaking, as well as many social and spatial realities. The common usage of the terms “public” and “private” contributes to considerable ambiguity around what these terms actually mean. Reflecting some of dominant ways that the public–private divide has been conceptualized and defined are four thematic groupings, namely the liberal-economistic model, the republican-virtue approach, public life as sociability and private life as withdrawal, and the gendered associations of public and private life. There is a need to consider the conceptualization of the public–private divide in non-Western contexts, which contributes to the diversification of our knowledge and theories of the public and private. It is also important to examine how the notions of public and private are evolving in the digital era, transforming demarcations between the public and private.