Models of E-Democracy

Several theories of E-Democracy have been presented, and implementations of and experiments in E-Democracy emerged. However, existing literature on the subject appears rather non-comprehensive, lacking an integrated basis, for gathering knowledge in the future. After an analysis of theories of E-Democracy versus implementations reported in related literature, we address the need for a model generally absent from contemporary theoretical literature: the Partisan model of E-Democracy. We aim to simplify the current jungle of E-Democracy models into four idealised models: the Liberal, the Deliberative, the Partisan, and the Direct. We aim to illustrate how current theories of E-Democracy, in addition to reported implementations, may be covered by these models. The explanatory potential of these four models is illustrated by analysing implementations of a communication technology for E-Democracy, the web-based discussion forum. We argue that, instead of viewing technology, such as the Internet, as a black box, any implementation of E-Democracy should be adapted to the specific democracy model(s) pursued by a particular initiative. In addition, E-Democracy researchers could be more specific about their standard of democracy, in order to avoid artificial comparisons or criticisms of contemporary E-Democracy without an explicit framework of criteria. Finally, we discuss the possibilities of unifying the ideals from different models on E-Democracy. We suggest that any context of E-Democracy may in fact require elements from all four models to stay dynamic over time

Concepts of E-Democracy in an E-Society

With the increasing digitization of society, many new concepts have emerged. In addition to e-business, e-commerce, and e-government, we now also have e-democracy, e-voting, e-parliament, e-information, and many other e-conceptions. What do these terms mean, how do they differ from one-another, and how do they fit in an e-society? In this paper, we try to define, differentiate, and place these concepts, based on the existing literature

Evaluating the quality of e-democracy processes: an empirical study in the Greek context

Διπλωματική εργασία--Πανεπιστήμιο Μακεδονίας, Θεσσαλονίκη, 2011.Public Authorities and Government use Infor-mation and Communication Technologies(ICTs) as tools to improve interaction and communi-cation with citizens, design new ways to access and participate in Public Authority processes or public decision-making processes and share the responsibility of political decision processes, heading for a new democratic model, better than the actual i.e. the model of e-democracy. This paper analyzes e-democracy and presents the quality model to evaluate e-democracy using the framework for the quality of e-democracy i.e. a four dimensional quality framework for the delivery of e-services adjusted to the e-democracy models, and is comprised by the following dimensions: coordination, control, sharing, and transparency. The framework is validated through an empirical research conducted among Greek citizens. Additionally, the benefits of e-democracy and the obstacles to enhance its quality are identified and analyzed

The influence of ICT on modern democracy. Selected dilemmas of electronic democracy

Ze względu na szybki rozwój technologii informacyjnych i komunikacyjnych we wszystkich dziedzinach życia publicznego, wpływ ICT na demokrację staje się w ostatnich latach coraz bardziej popularnym przedmiotem badań wśród przedstawicieli nauki. Zastosowanie nowoczesnych technologii jest bardzo widoczne w gospodarce, edukacji, bankowości, usługach, przejawiając się zarówno w przestrzeni publicznej, jak i prywatnej. ICT są również stosowane w celu ułatwienia/usprawnienia procesów zachodzących pomiędzy instytucjami politycznymi, partiami politycznymi i politykami a wyborcami. W życiu politycznym nowoczesne technologie są stosowane zarówno w procesie informowania, w komunikowaniu, jak w procesie wyborczym. W związku z powyższym mówić można o nowym paradygmacie demokracji wspomaganej przez technologie elektroniczne. Obok demokracji rozumianej w tradycyjny sposób, demokracja elektroniczna staje się popularnym pojęciem definiowanym w kategoriach technologii informacyjnych i komunikacyjnych stosowanych w celu zwiększenia udziału obywateli w procesach demokratycznych. Głównym celem rozważań podjętych w niniejszym tekście jest odpowiedź na pytanie dotyczące najważniejszych dylematów związanych z e-demokracją oraz wybranych wyzwań pojawiających się w związku z tą nową formułą sprawowania władzy. Wywód prowadzony jest w kontekście wpływu ICT na zasady demokratyczne, jak i na udział obywateli w demokratycznym procesie decyzyjnym. Podstawą teoretyczną do analizy są ujęcia e demokracji sformułowane przez następujących badaczy: Tero Päivärinta i Øystein Saebo, Joachim Åström i Jan A. G. M. van Dijk. Artykuł podzielono na kilka części: pierwsza dotyczy zdefiniowania demokracji elektronicznej i jej modeli, druga część poświęcona została kwestiom uczestnictwa wspieranego przez ICT, a w trzeciej części rozważań podniesiono zagadnienie różnych dylematów i wyzwań pojawiających się związku z nowymi możliwościami e-demokracji.Due to rapid development of Information and Communication Technologies in all areas of public life, the influence of ICT on democracy has been becoming over the last years an increasingly popular research subject. Application of modern technologies influences work, education, trade, services and social relations on the professional, public and private space. ICTs are also applied to facilitate (and adapt technologically) processes that occur between political institutions, political parties and politicians – and voters. ICTs are increasingly applied in providing information and communications, as well as in elections. Taking all this into consideration, one can speak about a new paradigm of democracyassisted by electronic technologies. Next to traditional democracy, electronic democracy is becoming a popular concept defined in terms of information and communication technologies applied in order to increase citizen participation in democratic processes, both as concerns the quantity and the form of actual impact exerted by individuals on public institutions. The main objective of this study is to answer questions about the most important dilemmas related to e-democracy, and the most frequent concerns, and thereby challenges, posed by this new form of governance. These considerations are conducted in the context of the analysis of the influence of ICT on democratic principles, as well as citizen participation. The theoretical foundation for the analysis is provided by the theories by Tero Päivärinta and Øystein Sæbø, Joachim Åström, and Jan A. G. M. van Dijk. The paper is divided into several parts: the first one discusses the character of electronic democracy and its models, the second concerns the issue of ICT-assisted participation, and the third is devoted to the different dilemmas and challenges posed by electronic democracy

Electronic democracy strategy for Bahrain

This thesis attempts to answer the question ‘What e-democracy strategy, if any, is most suitable for Bahrain?’. Based on a qualitative case study for the country, an e-Democracy strategy is synthesised and presented in this thesis. The literature review includes the forms, ideals and values of democracy. The researcher supports and argues for the assertion that any attempt to implement e-Democracy must not undermine the basic values and ideals of democracy. In the review on Islam and democracy, the author argues that Islam is not against democracy. However it is asserted that e-Democracy implementation must consider the cultural and religious context of Bahrain. The process of democratisation and how it is taking place in Bahrain and Gulf countries are also discussed. A strategy formulation framework is adopted after reviewing literature on how to formulate a strategy. E-Government strategies of reading players in the e-Government are reviewed with an objective of learning lessons prior to formulating e-Democracy strategy. The literature review on e-democracy helped to understand the theory and practice of e-Democracy elsewhere in the world and identify issues that required further investigation. The issues identified from the literature were investigated using empirical data. Data from multiple sources were collected and analysed. The methods included interviews, focus groups and analysis of documents. The results confirm that most of the issues identified as part of the literature review are relevant to the case under investigation. However, there were issues that were not present in the literature. This includes the need to consider democracy’s human, social and cultural aspects as well as factors pertaining to the political divide in Bahrain. This, if not tackled properly, may pose some challenges to the implementation of e-Democracy. The results also disprove the assumption held by the government of Bahrain, as well as by the researcher at the beginning of the study, that e-voting is a more plausible type of e-democracy than other forms. The author adapts and presents an e-Democracy model for Bahrain based on Chadwick and May (2003) along with the e-Democracy strategy for Bahrain. The author also argues that the model and the strategy can be tailored to use in other GCC countries. The study fills a gap in the literature, namely the lack of e-democracy studies pertaining to the Middle East. It also provides a framework and lessons for other countries in the region for the creation of an e-democracy strategy

Direct E-Democracy and Political Party Websites: In the United States and Sweden

The Internet is seen by some as a means to foster public participation through interactivity and bring forth an e-democracy. Many past studies evaluated the implementation of interactive features on government websites; however, this study focuses on the implementation of such features on political parties’ websites, specifically in the United States and Sweden. There has been a rise of a few political parties in Sweden dedicated to the ideal of direct democracy. These so called “net parties” developed around the use of the internet for public deliberation and voting. The websites were evaluated on their implementation of 25 different features with varying levels of interactivity based upon the direction of communication and the level of receiver control. The results show that, while the net parties are small, they tended to implement the most interactive features out of any other group (major and minor parties, United States and Sweden parties). Additionally, Sweden’s political parties (not including the net parties) implemented more of the features on average than those of the United States