Electronic democracy and power

Abstract

The paper discusses, mainly on a principal and general level, answers to the question: To what questions about democracy is Information Technology (IT) the answer? Parliamentary-centred democratic procedures, in a newsmediasaturated society, generate less and less enthusiasm among citizens. There's no evidence that people are turning anti-democratic, but opinion polls in both western Europe and North America show that in practically all countries, citizens feel gradually more detached from the established political process. Political reality seems to be moving further and further away from the ideals of democracy as described in political science textbooks. Although IT could be designed to support democratic procedures by which citizens could regain the political power they obviously feel they have lost, this is not happening. Electronic Democracy is very little about electronics, and very much about democratic reform - about power. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2004.