Political Participation and Web 2.0 (original) (raw)

Internet and political participation

Political C ommunication C onference, International Political Science Association (IPSA) & International Association of Media and Education Research

Political Communication is often restricted and confined to the area of institutional politics, forgetting public opinion, public sphere and social movements. However, Political Communication ‘is also about understanding and making sense of civic affairs’ (Kaid 2004: 13). One claims that political communication must not be limited to the instrumental communicative strategies from institutions and political parties. It can and should study spontaneous and informal public spheres, considering public conversation, political discussion and collective action. Additionally, it must observe the changes and mutations induced by the appearance of new communicative environments and their impact on political activity

Modes of participation and democratization on the Internet

This article reviews recent development in the area of political discourse and the Internet of interest to scholars in linguistics, discourse analysis and communications studies. It takes as its framework the concept of 'participation' and discusses how the Internet has altered modes of political participation, from the macro-politics of governance and political activism to the micro-politics of everyday life. It begins by making a distinction between discourse on the Internet and discourse about the Internet, showing how the way information technology is discursively constructed affects how it is used. It then goes on to consider how the Internet is changing citizen's participation in the public sphere though a transformation and redefinition of information, and whether or not computer mediated communication is suited to the kind of deliberative debate that fosters democracy. Finally, it discusses the formation and discursive practices of on-line

Guest Editorial: Towards a comprehensive approach of online political participation

2013

He is an active member of the DEL research network and of the French-Québec webinpolitics.com research project. His research focuses on the con-temporary public sphere through the evolution of three main fields: the use of internet and new media in political communication; the territorial dimension of information technologies; online media and new forms of journalism. He published several papers in journals, as well as and chapters in several books, both French and international.

Civic Participation in the Internet Age

1998

Added to the mix in current discussion about the future of American democracy is the potentially revolutionary impact of new information technologies on civic life. This paper explores the claims for technology's ability to enhance civic participation, focusing particular attention on the Internet. The paper states that the claims are grounded, however, within the larger context of political theory-specifically, the tension between representative and direct forms of democracy. It addresses this context first, before considering politics on the Internet and discussing a 1998 K. A. Hill and J. E. Hughes study about Usenet political newsgroups. Contains 24 references and 3 appendixes: Appendix A contains data on Usenet Newsgroups; Appendix B contains Websites used in the 1998 study; and Appendix C lists addresses for "electronic democracy" websites. (BT)

A critical appraisal of forms, features, factors and variables of democratic e-participation with a focus on social media

This paper aims to provide an in-depth analysis of the role and importance of e-participation in the political process. The internet has introduced new ways and forms of political communication and citizen participation in social and political life. In the era of digital democracy, the capabilities of citizens in terms of participating directly in politics have been enriched significantly. Accordingly, the internet and the technologies of Web 2.0 in particular have been invested with increased democratic expectations for the renewal of democratic institutions. However, academic research broaches the democratic potential of social media with reservation and highlights the loose connection between online and offline political participation. In this paper, we explore the variables and factors that influence online political participation, taking into consideration the new communicative codes introduced by social media. The analysis of the paper is based on a literature review performed on recent studies in the field, which reveal a plurality of variables and factors that should be analysed thoroughly and combined for the articulation of valid conclusions in relation to the features and the political characteristics associated with the new forms