e-Democracy Goes Ahead. The Internet As a Tool for Improving Deliberative Policies?

Westholm, Hilmar

doi:10.1007/3-540-46138-8_39

Cited by 7 publications

(3 citation statements)

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“…As well as the cultural and political aspect, difficulty of access and use of online platforms also result from a lack of information and technological literacy, or from precarious social and financial conditions. The results reveal that the main users of online platforms are still citizens from privileged backgrounds, with a high level of education, revenue or political interest (Mambrey et al , 1999; Solop, 2001; Gibson, 2001; Tettey, 2001; Westholm, 2002; Sani, 2004; Strandberg, 2008; Balla, 2014).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In most cases of online discussion forums, advantages could be found such as the alleviation of spatial, temporal and financial barriers, when compared to traditional forums that do not use the digital environment (Klein, 1999). On the other hand, some forums studied did not present any significant increase in quantity and diversity of participants: they seem to be limited to citizens from a privileged background, with a high level of education and political interest (Tettey, 2001; Westholm, 2002; Strandberg, 2008), especially in countries that are at more advanced stages of democracy and with freedom of speech (Shen and Liang, 2015).…”

Section: Meta-synthesis Of the Case Studiesmentioning

confidence: 95%

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The rise of participatory despotism: a systematic review of online platforms for political engagement

Santini

Carvalho

2019

JICES

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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present a systematic literature review of empirical studies into online platforms for political participation. The objective was to diagnose the relationship between different types of digital participatory platforms, the real possibilities of participation generated by those initiatives and the impact of such participation on the decision-making process of governmental representatives. Design/methodology/approach A systematic literature review was conducted using pre-defined terms, expressions and criteria. A total of 434 articles from 1995 to 2015 were gathered from the Web of Science database. And, 32 studies were selected from those articles for meta-synthesis, and the cases investigated were evaluated according to the e-participation ladder model (Smyth, 2001). Findings The results indicated that online political participation worldwide remains timid both in quantity and quality. We have witnessed the growth of a kind of “rhetorical participation” promoted by policy-makers and the rise of a “participatory despotism”, in which only the privileged partake, while the majority remains silent. Practical implications The solutions found to promote increased participation and ensure its effectiveness ranged from shaping the platform design in accordance with citizens’ capacities and interests to a need for profound political–administrative change, which includes the world’s public agencies adopting a more transparent, inclusive and collaborative approach to decision-making. Originality/value This paper proposes a systematic review, mapping the studies on online platforms for political participation, analysing the questions, methods and conclusions found by the authors and evaluating each case study with a participation ladder.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Meta-synthesis Of the Case Studiesmentioning

confidence: 95%

The rise of participatory despotism: a systematic review of online platforms for political engagement

Santini

Carvalho

2019

JICES

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show abstract

“…The quality of the participation methods may have substantial influence on the citizens' enthusiasm of participation [7]. Nowadays, citizens prefer selective, focused, and limited local level involvement [18], which is not supported by these methods. Several studies of NIMBY (Not In My BackYard) phenomenon reveal that only the threat of a change in their immediate surroundings activates people [13].…”

Section: Participation In Land Use Planningmentioning

confidence: 99%