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Online forms of political participation and their impact on democracy

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  • Aichholzer, Georg
  • Allhutter, Doris

Abstract

With the diffusion of the World Wide Web expectations were raised that electronic tools may stimulate citizens’ participation in political decision-making. Across Europe many e-participation projects have been funded over the last years but seldom have attempts been made to assess the effects. An OECD report on Evaluating Public Participation in Policy Making concluded that there is an “evaluation gap” and still empirical results differ widely (OECD 2005). A key question for an evaluation of democracy effects is: To what extent does e-participation strengthen civic engagement and democratic governance? Or more specific, under which conditions and in which forms can online political participation be conducive to normative democratic goals? Starting from a conceptual foundation of online political participation, this paper develops a systematic overview of different levels of engagement (e.g., information, consultation, participation) and categories of e-participation (e.g., e-petitioning, e-consultation, e-deliberation, e-polling, e-voting). After an outline of common hypotheses in research on the democratic impacts of e-participation, it provides a focused literature review of respective empirical results. By disclosing how the diverse approaches and criteria guiding this research lead to inconclusive findings, the paper shows the gaps and open questions to be worked on in further studies. In order to arrive at a more encompassing assessment of the democracy effects of e-participation, the final chapter suggests future research directions and refers to some fruitful starting points.

Suggested Citation

  • Aichholzer, Georg & Allhutter, Doris, 2011. "Online forms of political participation and their impact on democracy," ITA manu:scripts 11_02, Institute of Technology Assessment (ITA).
    • Handle: RePEc:ita:itaman:11_02
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Pippa Norris, 2005. "The Impact of the Internet on Political Activism: Evidence from Europe," International Journal of Electronic Government Research (IJEGR), IGI Global, vol. 1(1), pages 19-39, January.
    2. Charles Pattie & Patrick Seyd & Paul Whiteley, 2003. "Citizenship and Civic Engagement: Attitudes and Behaviour in Britain," Political Studies, Political Studies Association, vol. 51, pages 443-468, October.
    3. Charles Pattie & Patrick Seyd & Paul Whiteley, 2003. "Citizenship and Civic Engagement: Attitudes and Behaviour in Britain," Political Studies, Political Studies Association, vol. 51(3), pages 443-468, October.
    4. Betz, Fritz, 2010. "E-Partizipation und die Grenzen der Diskursethik," ITA manu:scripts 10_04, Institute of Technology Assessment (ITA).
    5. Braun, Ernest, 2010. "The Changing Role of Technology in Society," ITA manu:scripts 10_03, Institute of Technology Assessment (ITA).
    6. Florian Walter & Sieglinde Rosenberger, 2007. "Skilled Voices?: Reflections on Political Participation and Education in Austria," OECD Education Working Papers 11, OECD Publishing.
    7. Norris, Pippa, 2003. "Will New Technology Boost Turnout? Evaluating Experiments in E-Voting v. All-Postal Voting Facilities in UK Local Elections," Working Paper Series rwp03-034, Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government.
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