The use of digital tools for political participation in digital democracy: Qualitative analysis of 10 case studies

This research aims to qualitatively analyze the use of digital tools for political participation in digital democracy using 10 case studies. Technological development is influencing every part of our reality. Political systems are not an exception. Democracies expanded by the use of information and communication technology are dubbed digital democracies. Digital democracies are forming new political participation forms by using digital tools to encourage political participation from their citizens. The core of the paper is an analysis of 10 case studies of digital participation platforms divided on three levels of applicability: parliamentary, local government and political party. There is a gap in understanding whether new digital innovations have a potential to shape the future of democratic processes or do they represent a failed experiment. The paper deals with understanding the use of digital tools for political participation in digital democracy from 2001 to 2020. Spatially, the paper will focus on Europe and individual countries of the world depending on the level of the analysis

Success in eVoting – Success in eDemocracy? The Estonian Paradox

Part 2: Critical ReflectionsInternational audienceEstonia has acquired the reputation of a successful e-voting country, and perhaps justifiably so. It was the first country in the world to enable remote online voting in nationwide elections in 2005 and the share of e-voters has been on a rise ever since, now reaching one-third of all voters. Against this backdrop of a seemingly flourishing e-democracy, we set out to ask if the country’s success in e-voting also implies its success in e-democracy in a broader sense. In a qualitative case study, we compare Estonia’s experience in e-voting with the implementation and outcomes of three e-participation projects to demonstrate that considerable discrepancies exist between the take-up and perceived success of e-voting vis-à-vis other e-democracy instruments. In light of these findings the paper further discusses the factors that are likely to account for these differences and highlights the need to look beyond the success of online voting for a holistic evaluation of the state of e-democracy in a given country

We asked, you said, we did: assessing the drivers and effectiveness of an e-participation practice in Scotland

E-participation refers to the process of engaging citizens and stakeholders in policy and decision-making process to make public administration participatory and transparent. This chapter explores the main drivers behind the introduction of an e-participation practice in Scotland called We asked, you said, we did, and assesses its effectiveness. The combination of documentary analysis of Scottish public sector reform reports and a series of in-depth interviews reveals that the so-called Scottish Approach to policy-making has strongly influenced the adoption and use of We asked, you said, we did. The practice has contributed to the way the Scottish Government works in collaboration with stakeholders and citizens in designing and revising policy and has fostered the co-production of solutions to public policy problems. However, the Scottish Government need to utilize it at the ‘right’ time and on appropriate issues so that it can make a real difference to policy outcomes

Understanding the development of digital governance : a study of the relations between institutions, organisations, and actors in the member states of the OECD and EU

Defence date: 11 October 2019Examining Board: Prof. Alexander Trechsel, University of Lucerne (Supervisor); Prof. Giovanni Sartor, European University Institute; Prof. Jane Fountain, University of Massachusetts Amherst; Prof. Robert Krimmer, Tallinn University of TechnologyThis thesis is concerned with the development of digital governance. The main goal of the thesis is to analyse and explain patterns and levels of digital governance through the lens of actorcentred institutionalism and institutional change. More concretely, the research question of this thesis is: “To what extent do changes in institutional arrangements, organisational processes, and actors’ preferences influence changing patterns and levels of digital governance over time and across space?” To answer this question, this study employs a multi-method approach, combining statistical analysis and case study research. The quantitative part of the thesis consists of time-series cross-sectional analysis of forty-one countries over the period of 2003- 2016. The qualitative part includes two in-depth case-studies, Estonia and the USA, and traces the development of digital governance from the early 1990s onward. One of the main findings of this study is that the level of digital governance is largely determined by institutional factors. This finding is supported both by the statistical and the qualitative analyses of the thesis. However, the findings of the in-depth case studies also suggest that the effect of institutional arrangements may vary across countries over time as it has been consistently stronger in the USA than in Estonia, and it has been increasing over time in Estonia. I find modest support to the hypothesis that organisational processes affect the level of digital governance. Regarding the role of actors, the results are not clear-cut, and they are rather surprising. The statistical analysis reveals that digital governance is negatively affected by politicians’ preferences but positively influenced by the private sector whereas the public has no effect. The qualitative study partly confirms these findings, indicating that politicians play a minor direct role in the development of digital governance. Instead, progress in this area has been mainly in the hands of government officials, which have been supported both by the IT sector and favourable legislative frameworks. Overall, this study suggests that digital governance has not been, until 2016, a politicised issue, and this has created good conditions for government officials to take the lead in the development of digital governance

Squatting movement and practice of procurement housing for poor people

This paper focuses on the squatting movement and the practice of procuring housing for poor people, which are needs neglected by the government. The squatting movement and practice have developed in the Western world in two waves of urban movement: in the 1960s-1970s and from 2000 up to now. This topic has become important again in the neoliberal world of growing social inequalities. Research methods include the analysis of existing studies, a comparison of Geneva (Switzerland), Rome (Italy), and New York (USA) as case studies, and the genera- lisation of lessons learned. The main recommendations are the reform of housing policy and the recovery of welfare state instruments