Digital Democracy

Abstract

This article arises from the doctoral research work that the author carried out at the University of Salamanca and which culminated in 2024, whose thesis served as the fundamental basis for its preparation. The objective of the paper is to analyze the current reality of the democratic political mode, in light of technological advances, to verify whether the electronic advances obtained by humanity in recent decades have had an impact on this system of political organization. The methodology used included a theoretical investigation on political models, technological developments, and then a prospective analysis to propose a theoretical description of what should be understood by digital democracy and its elements, as well as a verification of the benefits and risks that generate today’s technical milestones on democracy. The fundamental conclusion is that the stage of participatory democracy has today migrated to a higher level, that of digital democracy, in which technology is providing new instruments of political participation. Likewise, this new model has opened the channels of social, economic and political participation to new actors other than citizens (minors, legal entities), those who have technological tools for communication and electronic interaction.