Deliberative Democracy in the Age of Social Media | Democracia deliberativa na Era das Redes Sociais

Abstract

The potential of the social media to foster democracy and to strengthen grassroots participation has been widely and controversially discussed. This paper contributes to empirical as well as theoretical research by providing an in-depth analysis of political deliberation on social media. I will explore new paths to improve the quality of political deliberation and to apply and further develop deliberative democratic theory in the age of social media. My vision for a democratic internet is inspired by Fishkin's (2011; 2018) proposal that large-scale deliberative democracy could solve the democratic trilemma which is the pattern of conflict to realise all three key premises of democracy-political equality, deliberation and mass participation. My research goal is to explore which factors influence the quality of political discourses and large-scale deliberation on social media platforms. Based on Habermas and other deliberative democratic scholars, I adapt the deliberative democratic theory to the digital context and propose a set of normative standards (rationality, reciprocity, diversity, respect and inclusion) to evaluate the current quality and shape of online discussions. The findings highlight that online deliberation is embedded in a multi-layered context and the quality of deliberation is determined by the interplay of the socio-technical infrastructure, the political context, the legal framework and the participants of discourses. The analysis of social media platforms, such as Facebook, indicates that deliberation could be better implemented on publicly administered (new) platforms.

Influencia de las redes sociales en la democracia latinoamericana

“…Los discursos políticos en las redes sociales de internet parecen configurar e impulsar el desarrollo político, y desempeñan un papel crucial en el proceso de toma de decisiones políticas. Asimismo, influyen en el establecimiento de la agenda, la atención del público, el curso y la dirección de las cuestiones políticas, y contribuyen en el futuro de actores políticos como los partidos, los políticos y el sistema democrático en general (Aguirre, 2023;Völker, 2019). ISSN: 2304ISSN: -2265 Con la llegada de la revolución digital, muchas democracias han tenido que replantear los mecanismos de la participación ciudadana, ya que los cambios tecnológicos -y, por consiguiente, sociales-han desembocado en una transformación en beneficio de la participación ciudadana.…”

“…Para Engesser et al (2017), una de las problemáticas actuales de las sociedades democráticas es la conformación y capacidad organizativa de movimientos minoritarios que han logrado ser visibles y representados en instituciones públicas, donde exponencialmente se incide en el uso de algoritmos que permiten la creación de cámaras de eco ideológicas (Aguirre, 2023;Pariser, 2011;Soto, 2017;Sunstein, 2018;Völker, 2019). Lo preocupante es que los ciudadanos se vean expuestos a información que refuerza sus propias opiniones, lo que trae como consecuencia la radicalización política.…”

Meta-Analysis: Trends of Digital Democracy Research Publications

“…It is the principle of public space, according to Habermas, to avoid the domination of political power or private political space. And in the context of a new life, Habermas's thoughts on the concept of public space need to be modified without losing its ideal value (Völker, 2019) The fundamental element in a digital democracy is technology by the government (executive or legislative). Internet technology has become the primary tool for a more comprehensive and interactive public space between the government and the community with a wireless connection with territorial boundaries (Kostoska & Kocarev, 2019).…”