Digital democracy

Abstract

For contemporary societies, digital democracy provides a key concept that denotes, in our understanding, the relationship between collective self-government and mediating digital infrastructures. New forms of digital engagement that go hand in hand with organisational reforms are re-intermediating established democratic settings in open-ended ways that defy linear narratives of demise or renewal. As a first approach, we trace the history of digital democracy against the background of its specific media constellations, describing continuities and discontinuities in the interplay of technological change and aspirations for democratisation. Thereafter, we critically review theoretical premises concerning the role of technology and how they vary in the way the concept of digital democracy is deployed. In four domains, we show the contingent political conditions under which the relationship between forms of democratic selfdetermination and its mediating digital infrastructures evolve. One lesson to learn from these four domains is that democratic self-governance is a profoundly mediated project whose institutions and practices are constantly in flux.Issue 4

Political Theory of the Digital Constellation

“…Articles that seek to systematically reflect on the relationship between digitalisation and democracy in political theory are currently in vogue (cf. for example : Schaal 2016;Thiel 2020;Berg and Hofmann 2021) and are also increasingly being taken up in specialist journals (Berg and Thiel 2019;Schulz 2021a)-as evidenced not least by this special issue. talisation also requires not only a "supersizing" of theories, the expansion of known approaches and models with a view to enlarged and accelerated problem situations, but also "theory 2.0" (Earl and Kimport 2011, p. 24 ff.…”

Islamic and capitalist economies: Comparison using econophysics models of wealth exchange and redistribution

“…The former encourages repayment and mutual aid to third parties as mentioned, while the latter aims at an association economy linking communal reciprocity, public redistribution, and private market exchange. Meanwhile, the information industry is moving toward digital democracy [ 52 , 53 ] and platform corporativism [ 54 , 55 ]. The former aims for citizen participation in policy consensus and government services and the latter for joint ownership, fair profit sharing, and democratic governance.…”

Ballots and Padlocks: Building Digital Trust and Security in Democracy through Information Governance Strategies and Blockchain Technologies

“…This evolution presents a dual-edged sword, offering remarkable opportunities for enhancing democratic participation and significant challenges concerning security and privacy. Digital democracy, characterized by using digital tools in electoral processes, has been pivotal in flattening established hierarchies and democratizing the public sphere [24]. For example, the advent of Web 2.0 technologies has echoed the principles of deliberative democracy, emphasizing the role of public discourse in collective self-determination.…”

“…However, alongside the optimistic views of digital democracy facilitating direct democratic self-determination, critical voices are pointing out the decay and destabilization of traditional democratic institutions. The rise of digital communication services has been implicated in the growing fragility of political parties, the erosion of the agenda-setting power of mass media, and the proliferation of disinformation campaigns [24,25].…”