Whose voice is heard in online deliberation?: A study of participation and representation in political debates on the internet
- 1 February 2006
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Taylor & Francis Ltd in Information, Communication & Society
- Vol. 9 (1), 62-82
- https://doi.org/10.1080/13691180500519548
Abstract
One of the core elements of the vision of ‘electronic democracy’ is the hope that the Internet permits free and equal access to political debates. However, experiences with online discourse challenge this view. The digital divide being one obstacle to participation, even more interesting is the fact that online communication is constrained in ways similar to the offline world. This paper attempts to reassess the question of whether the Internet makes political debate more open to voices that are normally not heard in the political field. Based on empirical evidence from a large-scale online deliberation, it analyses who participates in political debates on the Internet and whose views are represented. The results challenge both the optimistic and the sceptical view on electronic democracy. A theoretical model is developed that is able to explain the results. It extends current research by including the cultural practices of technology use and the specific effects of large-scale communication in the analysis. Though preliminary this model can help to inform the designers of online deliberations to make the most of their democratic potential.Keywords
This publication has 24 references indexed in Scilit:
- THE INTERNET AND DEMOCRACY: THE CAUSAL LINKS BETWEEN TECHNOLOGY AND POLITICSInternational Journal of Public Administration, 2002
- Does Disagreement Contribute to More Deliberative Opinion?Political Communication, 2002
- E-Voting as the Magic Ballot?SSRN Electronic Journal, 2002
- Social Implications of the InternetAnnual Review of Sociology, 2001
- Reconstructing Technologies as Social PracticeAmerican Behavioral Scientist, 1999
- Participation in electronic forums: Implications for the design and implementation of collaborative distributed multimediaTelematics and Informatics, 1997
- Attitudes, Opportunities and Incentives: A Field Essay on Political ParticipationPolitical Research Quarterly, 1995
- Bowling Alone: America's Declining Social CapitalJournal of Democracy, 1995
- The Politics of Citizen Access TechnologyPolicy Studies Journal, 1992
- Resource Mobilization and Social Movements: A Partial TheoryAmerican Journal of Sociology, 1977