The book reviews recent Internet research and political theory in search for a theoretically "cool-headed" perspectives on the current public political spaces in advanced societies. Aspects of the political theories of J. Rawls and J. Habermas are discussed and contrasted with contestation-oriented theories. In light of how the Internet takes part in structurally transforming the public sphere, the book draws on sociological and realist insights in order to encircle a more realist view.