Digital Democracy

Abstract

Digital democracy refers to a potential relationship between the affordances of digital information and communication technologies and the normative requirements of effective political democracy. Its origins lie in a long tradition of hope for a more interactive and participatory form of political mediation. Responding to anxieties about the thin and weak relationships upon which representative democracy is founded, proponents of digital democracy argue that it could enable new forms of political representation to be established; that it could reconfigure the terms of collective action by diminishing problems of social coordination; and that it could open up a space for more deliberative public discourse.

Political reconfiguration in the social space: data analysis and future perspective

“…These achievements are difficult to be limited by echo chambers and have led to significant upheavals and changes in society, even outside the network. Modes of engagement in public and political discourse evolve from collective action guided by a recognizable leadership figure to a connective action organized horizontally through networks ( Bennett and Segerberg, 2013 ), but which is equally effective in inciting people to participate in physical demonstrations, regardless of the outcome ( Coleman, 2016 ). Public opinion becomes a tool to reduce complexity, as Luhmann (1978) would say, a reality constituted by communicative processes that capture the attention of public opinion based on specific themes.…”

Democratic Accountability on Electronic Portals of the Municipal Deliberative Body

“…Neste sentido, os eGovernments (e-Gov), surgem como ferramentas de comunicação da Administração Pública, com base na tecnologia da informação e da comunicação (TIC), no intuito de aperfeiçoar a gestão pública e o atendimento à sociedade, em um modelo que comporte canais de feedback e a autonomia política do cidadão comum, implementado sob as premissas democráticas [23] [24] [25]. Importante destacar que existem diferenças significativas entre o uso da Internet pelos órgãos executivos e deliberativos: enquanto os órgãos executivos implementam seus portais eletrónicos com o objetivo principal de prestar serviços à sociedade, os deliberativos são essencialmente informativos, de controle e fiscalização, sendo imprescindível a promoção de atividades de engajamento e participação democrática [26] institucional, conexão entre instituições e sociedade e de legitimidade perante a opinião pública, suprindo as lacunas de transparência e accountability, inclusive para fortalecer as relações de confiança e subsidiar a lógica eleitoral [9].…”

Digitalization and Political Party Life in Poland – A Study of Selected Communication Habits of Party Members and Elective Representatives

“…According to Coleman (2016), digital democracy refers to a potential relationship between the aff ordances of digital information and communication technologies and the normative requirements of eff ective political democracy. In the context of digitalization, literature describes several phenomena having an impact on organizations and their members.…”