Title: eDemocracy: An Information Systems Perspective
1e-DemocracyAn Information Systems Perspective
2Agenda
- Introduction and concepts.
- What do we mean by democracy?
- What do we mean by electronic?.
- Applications Possibilities.
- Applications Realities.
- e-Democracy in action.
- Some reflections.
3Introduction and some concepts
4IS and e-Democracy
- Some thoughts about IS research.
- Web comment quantity yes, quality?
- Limited number of academic contributions to date.
- Issues in the literature
- Technological
- Social
- Political
- Ethical.
- Wide scope.
5Policy Making and Implementation
A Traditional Model
Governance
Leaders
After Steven Clift
6e-Democracy An IS View
e-Politics
Governance
e-Government
7e-Democracy A Second View
Transacting
Involving
Informing
8Current State of Play
e-Government
Many Initiatives
Many Initiatives
Central Government
Local Government
Several Initiatives
Limited Initiatives
e-Democracy
9What do we mean by Democracy?
10Defining Democracy
government of the people, by the people for the
people
11Athenian Democracy
- 5th Century BC.
- Cleisthenes.
- Nature.
- An idealised model.
- Limits.
- Myths.
12Characteristics of Democracy
- An enormously complicated subject.
- Authority (Kratos) derived from the citizen body
(the Demos). - Many models.
- Theories and practice.
- Common themes
- Consultation.
- Participation.
- Representation.
- Accountability.
- A civil society.
- The state is its citizens.
13Key Democratic Concepts
- Value of the individual.
- Basic rights
- Freedom of expression
- Freedom of assembly
- Right to organise
- Freedom from arbitrary arrest
- Freedom of movement
- Freedom of religion
- Privacy.
- Independent judiciary.
- Separation of powers.
- Protection of rights of minorities.
14Direct versus Representative
15Representative Democracy
- Representative democracy
- Free and fair elections
- Regular elections
- Real and effective choice at elections
- Right to campaign against the government
- Right of elected body to legislate
- Right of elected body to oppose the government.
- Levels of representation.
- Parties.
- Structures.
- Implications for e-democracy.
16Direct Democracy
- Community involvement in...
- Formulation of policy
- Legislation.
- Community decision making.
- A right to initiate debate.
- Mediation.
- Common mechanisms
- Town hall meetings
- Referenda
- Plebiscites
- Initiatives.
17e-Democracy and Direct Democracy
18Benefits of e- (Direct) Democracy?
- Legitimation.
- Decisions brought closer to the people.
- Public decisions publicly made.
- The popular will accurately expressed.
- Elimination of apathy.
- Elimination of alienation.
- Maximisation of the potential of the citizen
- but
- Inability of citizens to made sound judgements?
- Weakened central authority?
- Dangers to minorities?
- Lack of clear leadership?
- Paralysis in decision making?
19A Cynical View
Democracy substitutes election by the
incompetent many for appointment by the corrupt
few.
20A Spectrum of Options
Direct
Representative
21Democratic Models?
Democracy is a complicated animal
22What do we mean by Electronic?
23The ICT Toolkit - Part 1
- Networking tools
- The Internet
- Extranets
- Private networks
- Webs of all sorts
- e-Mail
- Internet broadcasting
- Search engines
- Chat rooms
- Discussion fora
- Kiosks
- WAP etc. etc. etc..
24The ICT Toolkit - Part 2
- Other tools
- Plain old computer systems
- Plain old telephone service
- Broadcast television
- Broadcast radio
- Interactive digital television
- Decision/groupware technology
- Security technology
- Data mining
- Artificial intelligence.
25The ICT Toolkit
- There are many tools.
- Interaction with social and political reality?
- Effect on social and political reality?
- Many possibilities.
- Experience in other fields
- Changing processes
- Changing economics
- Changing structures
- The customer/product experience.
- Implications for democratic tools and procedures?
- Lets look at some applications
26Applications Possibilities.
27Applications One View
As direct democracy takes root, the American
voter will become more involved and active. We
dont have to wait anymore for the next election
to express our view while the Congress makes
decisions for us. We dont have to wait for a
call from a pollster to speak our piece. We are
going to take the Internet and tell our
representatives what to do whenever we damn well
feel like it. D. Morris, Vote.com
28Applications Another View
E-Democracy is the use of information and
communications technology and strategies by
democratic sectors within the political
processes of local communities, states/regions,
nations and on the global stage. The democratic
sectors include the following democratic actors
governments, elected officials, media (and other
major online portals), civil society
organisations, international governmental
organizations and citizens/voters. Steven
Clift, Publicus.net
29Applications A Third View
E-Democracy is using new digital technology to
enhance the process of democratic relationship
between government and governed, representative
and represented. Stephen Coleman, Oxford
Internet Institute
30Applications Some Possibilities
- Electronic voting.
- On-line voting.
- On-line referenda.
- Broadcasting of meetings of elected
representatives. - Publication of information on the web.
- Representations via the web/e-mail.
- e-Lobbying.
- Discussion forums with public servants/politicians
. - Public discussion forums.
- Local citizen on-line initiatives.
- On-line opinion polling.
- On-line consultation.
- On-line/interactive/communal decision making.
31A Four Way Classification
- Technologies which
- Automate
- Save effort
- Improve accuracy
- Inform
- Inform electorate
- Lobby politicians.
- Change scale
- Enable certain processes
- Increase frequency.
- Transform
- Change the nature of democracy
- Radically enhance democratic structures.
32A Four Way Classification
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33Applications Reality
34Some Practical Problems
- The problem of access
- The world wide wait.
- The problem of security
- Do I trust the system - or the politicians?
- Social constraints
- The digital divide.
- The problem of abuse
- How do I know you are you?
- The problem of time
- The demand for instant action.
- An example Issues in referenda.
35Residential Access in Ireland
- Technology Availability
- Dial up land line Universal, but often
metered. - Leased line Available, but expensive.
- ISDN Available, but slow and metered.
- Digital Subscriber Line Limited availability as
yet. - Cable modem Patchy and quality varies.
- Microwave Limited by topography. Health
- concerns.
- Wireless LAN Still settling down.
- Satellite Available, but limited take-up.
- Mesh Radio Not yet in the frame.
- Fibre to the neighbourhood Limited availability.
36Access Broadband Penetration
37Security Vote Early and Often
38Social Issues Greater Gulfs
Educated Uneducated Young Old Rich
Poor Urban Rural
Will e- simply add to inequity?
39e-Lobbying A Fearful Symmetry
e-lobbying
e-Campaigning
Citizen
Representative
40Abusing the System
41The Problem of Time
- Limited attention span.
- Sound bites and nibbles.
- Information overload.
- The quality of discourse.
42An Example Instant Referenda?
- A seductive idea.
- Complications
- How often?
- Is it mandatory?
- Who is entitled to call one?
- Under what circumstances?
- Is it binding?
- Issue complexity and wording?
- Funding the McKenna judgement.
- Power as the asymmetry of knowledge (Foucault)
- Inertia.
43The Case of Stockwell Day
Moral Never smile encouragingly at the brass
section (Strauss)
44e-Democracy in Action
45Minnesota e-Democracy Project
www.e-democracy.org
46Minnesota e-Democracy Project
- Founded 1994.
- Not-for-profit private organisation.
- On-line public spaces
- Issue areas
- Located areas
- Election areas
- Voter registration on-line
- Links to parties and candidates
- Political announcements
- Municipal announcements.
- On-line public commons.
- Discussion groups.
- Plenty of literature on-line.
47Networked Input and Output?
A New Model
Governance
Citizens
Public Work
After Steven Clift
48On-Line Features (Clift)
- Topical portal.
- e-Mail newsletter.
- Personalisation of e-mail notification.
- Event calendar.
- Frequently asked questions exchange.
- Document library.
- Discussions.
- Other features
- Headline links
- Member directory
- Real time on-line features.
- Example for AIDS
- www.iaen.org
49Barcelona
www.bcn.es
50Barcelona Municipal Government
- Management areas
- Social welfare and education
- Friendly city and youth
- Business and consumers
- Territorial balance and city planning
- Finance and infrastructures
- Environment and city services
- Mobility and security
- Employment and economic promotion
- Land policy and housing
- Cultural policy.
- By district.
- Citizens and students own suggestions.
51Barcelona Municipal Government
- Making e-democracy work
- Each month assigned a topic and district.
- Two months in advance prepare a presentation on
the topic. - Prepare a programme for each month on how issue
will be presented and discussed. - One month in advance, publicise issue. Plan how
to gather data, views. - Meetings, debates, discussions held.
- Controller consolidates information, views
gathered and reports to Commissioner. - Government consolidates views from different
districts on different topics. - Work required.
52Consulting Canadians
www.consultingcanadians.gc.ca
53Ireland National!
www.richardbruton.net
54Ireland - Local
www.meath.ie
55e-Consultation in the UK
- Work of Stephen Coleman and others.
- Media as a one way conversation.
- Democracy as theatre/performance.
- More access less engagement.
- Tools
- On-line chat rooms
- Information links
- Mediation
- Two cases examined in detail
- Womenspeak
- Communications bill.
- Structure.
56UK e-Consultations Since 1998
- 1998 Data protection bill.
- 1999 Women in science and engineering.
- 1999 e-Democracy.
- 2000 Domestic violence.
- 2000 Family tax credits.
- 2001 Stem cell research.
- 2001 Floods.
- 2001 Parliamentary information strategy.
- 2002 Long term care of the elderly.
- 2002 Draft communications bill.
- Example Stem cell research can be found at
- www.democracyforum.org.uk/stem_cells/stemcells.htm
57UK On-line Consultation
- Four hypotheses
- On-line consultations provide a space for
inclusive public deliberation - Supported by the evidence.
- On-line consultations generate and connect
networks of interest or practice. - Strong support in one case.
- On-line interaction between representative and
represented leads to greater trust between them. - No evidence of this.
- Most on-line discussion is uninformed and of poor
quality. - No strong evidence.
- Question of measuring discursive quality.
58Reflections from an IS Viewpoint
59ICT, Admin and Political Science
60The Four Myths of e-Democracy?(Levine)
- Convenience will improve participation.
- Little evidence of this to date.
- The public needs more information.
- But what information?
- The Internet is a large town meeting.
- The limits of electronic communication.
- Context and management are critical.
- Without power brokers, democracy will flourish
- Societies are complex - so is politics.
61Winners and Non Starters?
- Major opportunities
- Information
- Consultation
- On-line debate and discussion
- Less promising/more problematic
- On-line voting
- On-line referenda
- On-line lobbying
- Interactive decision making.
- But..
- Size does matter
- Some options unworkable at a national level
- but could work at local or community level.
62Wide Deployment?
High
Contribution
Low
Time
Then
Now
63Concluding Conjectures
- e-Democracy holds out considerable promise, but
- the possibilities are often oversold.
- Technology can do much, but
- There are short to medium term problems which can
be surmounted with effort. - There are longer term social and structural
problems which may be less easy to solve. - It is likely to work best on a small scale.
- If e-Democracy is to happen, local government,
community and specialist groups is where it can
and should happen first. - Should this happen, what might it mean for the
nexus of power in the longer term?
64IS and e-Democracy?
All politics is local
Will all e-politics will be local too?