Online Participation in the UK: Testing a ‘Contextualised’ Model of Internet Effects

Abstract

This article offers a new test of the mobilisation thesis of Internet effects on individual political participation using data from an NOP survey of 1,972 UK adults during May 2002. The analysis differs from that of previous studies in that it significantly widens the understanding of the dependent variable-online participation-as well as introducing new Internet-specific variables as explanatory factors for this new type of participation. Using this broader 'contextualised' model of online political activity we find support for the idea that the Internet is expanding the numbers of the politically active, specifically in terms of reaching groups that are typically inactive or less active in conventional or offline forms of politics. In drawing these conclusions our article joins with a growing body of literature calling for the re-evaluation of the so-called normalisation thesis which argues that ultimately the Internet will lead to a further narrowing of the pool of politically active citizens by reinforcing existing levels of engagement. At a broader level we consider the findings point to the need for scholars in the area to work towards a more sophisticated theoretical and empirical modelling of participation in the online environment.This study builds on these critiques to provide a more comprehensive test of the mobilisation effects of the Internet than has hitherto been presented, within the European context. We do this by profiling and critiquing the empirical literature supporting the normalisation theory and then develop a more detailed or contex- BJPIR: 2005 VOL 7, 561-583

Participação eletrônica e suas relações com governo eletrônico, efetividade governamental e accountability

“…Vários autores sugerem que há valores democráticos inerentes às TIC empregadas pelo governo, as quais estão transformando as relações Estado--sociedade, pela maior interatividade e ubiquidade (ALONSO; FERNEDA; BIMBER, 2000;CENTER FOR DEMOCRACY AND TECHNOLOGY, 2002;CHADWICK;MAY, 2003;COLEMAN, 1999;DAWES;GREGG;AGOURIS, 2004;EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, 2003;LUSOLI;WARD, 2005;JAEGER, 2003;KERSTEN, 2003;LAMBRINOUDAKIS et al, 2003;LÉVY, 2004;LÖFSTEDT, 2005;MISURACA, 2009;NATIONAL INFORMATION SOCIETY AGENCY, 2008;PINA;TORRES;ROYO, 2007;REECE, 2006;ROBERTSON;VATRAPU, 2010;STAHL, 2005;STARR, 2010;UNITED NATIONS, 2003;2005a;2005b; Entretanto, enquanto há autores mais otimistas, que vislumbram o retorno à democracia direta, composta por cidadãos fortemente empoderados, há outros, mais pessimistas, que anteveem a emergência da democracia "push-button", com a consequente fragmentação da esfera pública.…”

“…Não obstante, há trabalhos indicando problemas na aceitação dessa visão como uma teoria global, apontando, inclusive, a necessidade da realização de outros estudos de caráter mais ampliado (GIBSON; LUSOLI; WARD, 2005;KRUEGER, 2002;SHAH;KWAK;HOLBERT, 2001;TOLBERT;MCNEAL, 2003). Além disso, cumpre ressaltar que a possibilidade de aperfeiçoamento da participação popular depende de outros fatores abordados anteriormente, como o grau de acesso a informações e de transparência governamental.…”

El impacto de Internet en la participación política: Revisando el papel del interés político

“…Recientemente, han aumentado las contribuciones que aportan evidencias que apoyan la tesis de la nueva movilización (Krueger, 2002;Tolbert y McNeal, 2003;Quintelier y Vissers, 2008;Cantijoch, 2009;DiGenaro y Dutton, 2006;Gibson, Lusoli y Ward, 2005) 4 . Por ejemplo, Cantijoch (2009) encuentra que el uso de Internet aumenta las actividades no convencionales de participación (como la protesta y las actividades de boicot de productos de consumo) y que este aumento de las formas no convencionales de participación medio conducen a preguntarse si Internet puede cambiar quién, cómo y por qué se participa en política.…”

Party Activism in the Internet Era: Testing for Reinforcement and Mobilization

“…The argument of scholars taking this side is as follows: since participating in politics and accessing and using Internet are related to the same kind of resources (mainly education, but in general the variables related to the socio-economic status), Internet is not likely to mobilize new people into the political process, and we are likely to observe a reinforcement of existing patterns of participation (Hill and Hughes, 1998;Norris, 2000;Margolis and Resnik, 2000). On the other hand, there are those who contend that the Internet is mobilizing people who were previously inactive (Krueger, 2002;Tolbert and McNeal, 2003;Gibson, Lusoli, and Ward, 2005;Anduiza, Gallgo and Cantijoch, 2009;Cantijoch, 2009;Borge and Cardenal, 2011). For example, Krueger (2002) contends that online participation does not requires the traditional resources associated to political participation, but new resources, such as Internet skills, which may increase the mobilization potential of the Internet (Krueger, 2002;Anduiza, Gallego and Cantijoch, 2009).…”

“…For example, Krueger (2002) contends that online participation does not requires the traditional resources associated to political participation, but new resources, such as Internet skills, which may increase the mobilization potential of the Internet (Krueger, 2002;Anduiza, Gallego and Cantijoch, 2009). Others argue that the Internet may have an effect on mobilization by facilitating involuntary exposure to political information (Cantijoch 2009); still others argue that it may affect mobilization by increasing both voluntary and involuntary exposure to e-stimuli and requests for participation (Gibson, Lusoli and Ward, 2005;Borge and Cardenal, 2011).…”