Skip to main content

The Case for a Broader Approach to e-Participation Research: Hybridity, Isolation and System Orientation

  • Conference paper
  • First Online:
Electronic Participation (ePart 2023)

Abstract

Two decades into the young history of e-participation research, we aim to take stock of the state of this field in the light of three developments that we argue have substantial implications for research on electronic participation: (1) dissolving boundaries between online and offline spheres of political participation; (2) academic isolation of e-participation research from other research fields related to political participation; and (3) the systemic turn in research on political participation. In relation to these developments, we discuss the potential role of the field in the future and make the case for a broader approach to e-participation research.

This paper is dedicated to the memory of Professor Joachim Åström 1973–2022. This research was supported by the research foundation Formas (grant number: 2021-00089).

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 44.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 59.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. OECD: Citizens as Partners: Information, Consultation and Public Participation in Policymaking. OECD Publishing (2001)

    Google Scholar 

  2. OECD: Promises and Problems of e-Democracy; Challenges of Citizen On-line Engagement. OECD Publishing (2003)

    Google Scholar 

  3. London, S.: Teledemocracy vs. deliberative democracy: a comparative look at two models of public talk. J. Interpersonal Comput. Technol. 3(2), 33–55 (1995)

    Google Scholar 

  4. Oser, J., Hooghe, M., Marien, S.: Is online participation distinct from offline participation? A latent class analysis of participation types and their stratification. Polit. Res. Q. 66(1), 91–101 (2013)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Grönlund, Å.: ICT is not participation is not democracy–eParticipation development models revisited. In: Macintosh, A., Tambouris, E. (eds.) ePart 2009, LNCS, vol. 5694, pp. 12–23. Springer, Heidelberg (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-03781-8_2

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  6. Susha, I., Grönlund, Å.: eParticipation research: systematizing the field. Gov. Inf. Q. 29(3), 373–382 (2012)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Kersting, N.: Online participation: from ‘invited’ to ‘invented’ spaces. Int. J. Electron. Gov. 6(4), 270–280 (2013)

    Google Scholar 

  8. Lindner, R., Aichholzer, G., Hennen, L.: Electronic Democracy in Europe. Prospects and Challenges of e-Publics, e-Participation and e-Voting. Springer, Cham (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-27419-5

  9. Norris, P. (ed.): Critical Citizens: Global Support for Democratic Government. Oxford University Press, Oxford (1999)

    Google Scholar 

  10. Amnå, E.: Playing with fire? Swedish mobilization for participatory democracy. J. Eur. Publ. Policy 13(4), 587–606 (2006)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Karlsson, M.: Digital democracy and the European Union. In: Bakardjieva Engelbrekt, A., Leijon, K., Michalski, A., Oxelheim, L. (eds.), The European Union and the Technology Shift, pp. 237–261. Springer, Cham (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-63672-2_10

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  12. Graham, M., Dutton, W.H.: Society and the Internet: How Networks of Information and Communication are Changing Our Lives, 2nd edn. Oxford University Press, Oxford (2019)

    Book  Google Scholar 

  13. Diamantaki, K.: The ambiguous construction of place and space. In: Gehman, U., Reiche, M. (eds.) Real Virtuality: About the Destruction and Multiplication of World, pp. 245–268. Transcript-Verlag, Bielefeld (2014)

    Google Scholar 

  14. De Souza E Silva, A., Sheller, M. (eds.) Mobility and Locative Media. Mobile Communication in Hybrid Spaces. Routledge, New York (2014)

    Google Scholar 

  15. Šimůnková, K.: Being hybrid: a conceptual update of consumer self and consumption due to online/offline hybridity. J. Mark. Manag. 35(1–2), 40–74 (2019)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Chadwick, A.: The Hybrid Media System: Politics and Power, 2nd edn. Oxford University Press, Oxford (2017)

    Book  Google Scholar 

  17. Karpf, D.: The MoveOn Effect: the Unexpected Transformation of American Political Advocacy. Oxford University Press, Oxford (2012)

    Google Scholar 

  18. Boulianne, S., Lalancette, M., Ilkiw, D.: “School strike 4 climate”: social media and the international youth protest on climate change. Media Commun. 8(2), 208–218 (2020)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Fung, A., Warren, M.E.: The participedia project: an introduction. Int. Publ. Manag. J. 14(3), 341–362 (2011)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Misnikov, Y., Filatova, O., Trutnev, D.: Empirical modeling of e-participation services as media ecosystems. In: Meiselwitz, G. (ed.) HCII 2021. LNCS, vol. 12774, pp. 87–104. Springer, Cham (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-77626-8_6

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  21. Åström, J., Grönlund, Å.: Online consultations in local government: what works, when, and why. connecting democracy: online consultation and the flow of political communication. In: Coleman, S., Shane, P. (eds.) Connecting Democracy, pp. 75–96. MIT Press, Cambridge (2012)

    Google Scholar 

  22. Thoneick, R.: Integrating online and onsite participation in urban planning: assessment of a digital participation system. Int. J. E-Plann.Res. 10(1), 1–20 (2021)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Charalabidis, Y., Loukis, E.: Participative public policy making through multiple social media platforms utilization. Int. J. Electron. Gov. Res. 8(3), 78–97 (2012)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Farrell, H.: The consequences of the internet for politics. Annu. Rev. Polit. Sci. 2012(15), 35–52 (2012)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Chi, P.-S., Conix, S.: Measuring the isolation of research topics in philosophy. Scientometrics 127(4), 1669–1696 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-022-04276-y

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Van Eck, N., Waltman, L.: Software survey: VOSviewer, a computer program for bibliometric mapping. Scientometrics 84(2), 523–538 (2010)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Waltman, L., van Eck, N.J.: A smart local moving algorithm for large-scale modularity-based community detection. Eur. Phys. J. B 86(11), 1–14 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1140/epjb/e2013-40829-0

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Sæbø, Ø., Rose, J., Flak, L.S.: The shape of eParticipation: characterizing an emerging research area. Gov. Inf. Q. 25(3), 400–428 (2008)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Verba, S., Schlozman, K.L., Brady, H.E.: Voice and Equality: Civic Voluntarism in American Politics. Harvard University Press, Cambridge (1995)

    Google Scholar 

  30. Smith, G.: Democratic Innovations: Designing Institutions for Citizen Participation. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge (2009)

    Google Scholar 

  31. Adenskog, M.: Democratic Innovations in Political Systems: Towards a Systemic Approach. Örebro university, Örebro (2018)

    Google Scholar 

  32. Steenbergen, M.R., Bächtiger, A., Spörndli, M., Steiner, J.: Measuring political deliberation: a discourse quality index. Comp. Eur. Polit. 1, 21–48 (2003)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  33. Mansbridge, J., et al.: A systemic approach to deliberative democracy. In: Parkinson, J., Mansbridge, J. (eds.) Deliberative Systems. Cambridge University Press, New York (2012)

    Google Scholar 

  34. Parkinson, J., Mansbridge, J. (eds.) Deliberative Systems: Deliberative Democracy at the Large Scale. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge (2012)

    Google Scholar 

  35. Easton, D.: An approach to the analysis of political systems. World Polit. 9(3), 383–400 (1957)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  36. Åström, J., Jonsson, M.E., Karlsson, M.: Democratic innovations: reinforcing or changing perceptions of trust? Int. J. Publ. Adm. 40(7), 575–587 (2017)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  37. Grönlund, K., Setälä, M., Herne, K.: Deliberation and civic virtue: lessons from a citizens deliberation experiment. Eur. Polit. Sci. Rev. 2(1), 95–117 (2010)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  38. Adenskog, M.: After the equilibrium: democratic innovations and long-term institutional development in the city of Reykjavik. Anal. Kritik 40(1), 31–54 (2018)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  39. Drazkiewicz, A., Challies, E., Newig, J.: Public participation and local environmental planning: Testing factors influencing decision quality and implementation in four case studies from Germany. Land Use Policy 46, 211–222 (2015)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  40. Pratchett, L., Durose, C., Lowndes, V., Smith, G., Stoker, G., Wales, C.: Empowering communities to influence local decision making: systematic review of the evidence (2009)

    Google Scholar 

  41. Kubicek, H., Aichholzer, G.: Closing the evaluation gap in e-participation research and practice. IN: Evaluating e-Participation: Frameworks, Practice, Evidence, pp. 11–45 (2016)

    Google Scholar 

  42. Åström, J., Hinsberg, H., Jonsson, M.E., Karlsson, M.: Crisis, innovation and e-participation: towards a framework for comparative research. In: Wimmer, M.A., Tambouris, E., Macintosh, A. (eds.) ePart 2013. LNCS, vol. 8075, pp. 26–36. Springer, Heidelberg (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-40346-0_3

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  43. Macintosh, A.: Characterizing e-participation in policy-making. In: Proceedings of the 37th Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, pp. 117–126 (2004)

    Google Scholar 

  44. Wirtz, B.W., Daiser, P., Binkowska, B.: E-participation: a strategic framework. Int. J. Publ. Adm. 41(1), 1–12 (2018)

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Martin Karlsson .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2023 IFIP International Federation for Information Processing

About this paper

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this paper

Karlsson, M., Adenskog, M. (2023). The Case for a Broader Approach to e-Participation Research: Hybridity, Isolation and System Orientation. In: Edelmann, N., Danneels, L., Novak, AS., Panagiotopoulos, P., Susha, I. (eds) Electronic Participation. ePart 2023. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 14153. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-41617-0_1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-41617-0_1

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-031-41616-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-031-41617-0

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics