Khutkyy, Dmytro. 2019. “E-Participation Waves: A Reflection on the Baltic and the Eastern European Cases.” Pp. 197-203. in Proceedings of Ongoing Research, Practitioners, Posters, Workshops, and Projects of the International Conference EGOV-CeDEM-ePart 2019. (original) (raw)

Political participation and internet platforms: How new communication technologies help Belarusian civic activists

Politics and Society in Belarus, 2016

This article is based on research of political participation practices of Belarusian political and social activists who employed Internet platforms such as social networks or websites in their campaigns. With the proliferation of the Internet, more hopes for significant improvement of political participation opportunities were laid upon new tools of communication in countries like Belarus. Social networks and other Internet platforms attracted attention as tools that can promote public campaigns under the conditions of restricted freedoms and media sphere. The article draws on a qualitative case study of seven civic campaigns and groups that were active in 2011-2013 in Belarus. The data for the research was collected through interviews with leaders of those campaigns. The article suggests that those Belarusian Internet activists who actively employed Internet platforms were able to widen opportunities for the political engagement of citizens. Activists followed main trends that are used among digital political practitioners around the globe. However, some problematic features of the Belarusian political and media systems such as control and persecution of the political actors or Internet censorship did not allow activists to use the potential of Internet platforms to the fullest. Moreover, the list of domains of public policy that could be appealed by activists were restricted by unspoken rules.

Digital Civic Engagement in the EU: Analysing Examples, Tools, and Sentiment in Latvia and Estonia

Studia Europejskie - Studies in European Affairs, 2021

he decline of civic engagement has been an issue for several EU Member States. To promote civic engagement, digital tools have been perceived as one of the possible solutions both at the EU and national levels. Within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic that has intensifi ed digitalisation in many forms and sectors, the issue of digital solutions for civic engagement has regained its relevance and topicality. In the last decade, Latvia has been among other EU Member States in which civic engagement has become a concerning and long-term challenge. For instance, as opposed to Estonia, voter turnout in the most recent national and European parliamentary elections has gradually declined in Latvia. There are also limited digital possibilities through which Latvian society can participate and infl uence the political agenda daily. Therefore, this article provides an overview of the provisions and guidelines at the EU level to address the issue of civic engagement by promoting digital democracy tools. Secondly, it analyses what digital tools exist in Latvia to promote civic engagement. Thirdly, by comparing the digital civic engagement solutions implemented in Estonia and Latvia, the lessons learned are drawn. Finally, using data from quantitative (polls) studies (before and during the COVID-19 pandemic), the article provides recommendations for Latvia in the context of I-voting.

Khutkyy, Dmytro. 2019. “Electronic Democracy in Belarus, Moldova, and Ukraine. Patterns and Comparative Perspectives.” Südosteuropa. Journal of Politics and Society 67(2): 264-284.

2019

In recent years, numerous e-participation opportunities have emerged. Their scope and impact vary across countries. This contribution reviews the performance of observed e-democracy initiatives in Belarus, Ukraine, and Moldova, based on expert interviews , content analysis of online cases, and related self-reported statistics. The studied countries demonstrate a wide spectrum of e-democracy forms, tools, their usage rates, and influences on policy making. Belarus has the fewest e-participation opportunities, Moldova has more tools but little e-participation, while Ukraine has a more functional version of digital democracy in terms of numbers of available e-participation formats, instruments, their usage rates, and impact on public policy.

Platform Politics in Europe | A Tale of Three Platforms: Collaboration, Contestation, and Degrees of Audibility in a Bulgarian e-Municipality

International Journal of Communication, 2019

This article presents a case study based in a medium-size Bulgarian city, Stara Zagora, where three different electronic platforms intended to support the interaction between citizens and institutions were introduced and tested between 2010 and 2018. These platforms had different driving actors, somewhat different profiles, and markedly distinct effects. The construction of the first platform was pursued through an e-government project led by a municipal official and financed with funds from the European Union. The second platform was My e-Municipality, an initiative undertaken by a small group of active citizens in collaboration with the city administration. The third platform was a set of interconnected Facebook groups through which citizens protested the destruction of a local park. The article defines and assesses the three distinct models of participation exemplified by the three platforms and discusses the challenges of achieving authentic engagement and response on the part o...

A study of e-participation projects in third-wave democracies

International Journal of Electronic Governance, 2009

The most useful questions to ask about the relationship between new media and new democracies are empirical and contextual: can the internet, in specific places and instances, facilitate forms of participation that strengthen citizens' capacity for collective action and ...

Shaping the web of civic participation: Civil society websites in eastern Europe

Journal of Public Policy, 2005

To study technologies of political participation in the era of internet we examine how civic associations in Eastern Europe create socio-technical platforms of civic participation. The creation of socio-technical platforms combines specific technological features with actors and types of acts. Based on data we collected on , East European civil society websites we identify five emergent genres of online platforms of civic participation: newsletters, interactive platforms, multilingual solicitations, directories, and brochures. In contrast to the utopistic image of a de-territorialized, participatory global civil society shaped by the new technology, our examination of civil society websites finds that the transnational are not inclined to be participatory and the participatory are less likely to be transnational.

Citizens Speak Out: Public e-Engagement Experience of Slovakia

digitalicons.org

This article analyzes the Slovak experience of citizens' e-engagement on different levels. Occasioned by the explosive development of social media networks all over the world, the article addresses the general progress in the use of technologies of e-participation, especially Web 2.0, in political relations in Slovakia. Using social network analysis, special attention is paid to the use of social media in governmental-citizen relations and the e-government systems in place. Slovak governmental web and social media use at the municipal level and also in the socio-political communication strategy of political parties are the central focus.