Advertisement

Models of Democracy and the Design of Slovenian Political Party Web Sites

Conference paper
Part of the IFIP International Federation for Information Processing book series (IFIPAICT, volume 223)

Abstract

Web sites of Slovenian political parties do not fully exploit the Internet’s potential for interactive and deliberative communication on political issues with citizens, because they favour a competitive-elitist perception of democracy. As result, political party’s web sites are mainly used for political mobilization, agitation in persuasion. Supporting this model of democracy via web pages enables political parties to strengthen their position of power and control in decision-making process, to legitimise a hegemonic position of representative democracy within political system, to impose the perception of citizens as consumers of political information and to provide democratic legitimization for capitalist mode of production. In order to strengthen citizen’s e-participation on political issues, a conceptual shift in designing political party’s web sites according to participatory and deliberative model of democracy is needed.

Keywords

Political parties Web sites Electronic democracy Citizens Slovenia 
Download to read the full conference paper text

References

  1. 1.
    Becker, Theodore Lewis/ Slaton, Christa Daryl (2000) The Future of Teledemocracy. Westport (Conn.), London: Praeger.Google Scholar
  2. 2.
    Bellamy, C,/ Taylor, John A. (1998) Governing in the information age. Buckingham.Google Scholar
  3. 3.
    Bernik, Ivan/ Uhan, Samo (2002) Koliko nezadovoljstva lahko prenese mlada demokracija? V N. Tos/ I. Bernik (ur.) Dernokracija v Slovenij, 113–138. Ljubljana: FDV, IDV, Center za raziskovanje javnega mnenja in mnozicnih komunikacij.Google Scholar
  4. 4.
    Center za raziskave javnega mnenja in mnozicnih komunikacij (CJMMK): Slovenian public oppinion — Politbarometer (May 2004). [URL:http://e-uprava.gov.si/ispo/politbarometer/prikaz.ispo?vprKey=l20&pregled=0], (25.5.2004).Google Scholar
  5. 5.
    Coleman, S. (2004) Connecting Parliament to the Pubic via the Internet. Information, Communication & Society. Vol. 7, No. 1, pp. 1–22.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  6. 6.
    Delakorda, Simon (2003) Elektronska demokracija v refleksiji izbranih politoloskih kategorij: politicne participacije, politicne moci in politicne akcije. In Andrej A. Luksic/ Tanja Oblak (ed.), S poti v digitalno demokracijo, 87–104. Ljubljana: Fakulteta za druzbene vede.Google Scholar
  7. 7.
    Della Porta, D. (2003) Terneljipoliticne znanosti. Ljubljana: Sophia.Google Scholar
  8. 8.
    Donk, Wim van de (2004) Cyberprotest: new media, citizens, and social movements. London, New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
  9. 9.
    Fishkin, James (2000) Virtual Democratic Possibilities: Prospects for Internet Democracy, Department of Government, University of Texas at Austin. [URL:http://cdd.stanford.edu/research/papers/brazil_paper.pdf], (5.5.2004).Google Scholar
  10. 10.
    Franz, Damjan (2002) Theoretical and Empirical Aspects of Digital Democracy with the Focus on Slovenia. Presented at the Euricom Colloquium: Electronic Networks & Democracy, 9–12 October 2002.Google Scholar
  11. 11.
    Gibson, Rachel Kay/ Römmele, Andrea/ Ward, Stephen J. (2004) Electronic democracy: mobilisation, organisation and participation via new ICTs. London, New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
  12. 12.
    Grossman, Lawrence K. (1995): The electronic republic: reshaping democracy in the information age. New York: Viking.Google Scholar
  13. 13.
    Hagen, Martin (1996) A Road to Electronic Democracy? Politische Theorie, Politik und der Information Superhighway in den USA in Hans J. Kleinsteuber (ur.)1996: Der Information Superhighway. Opladen: Westdeutscher Verlag, str. 63–85. [URL:http://www.uni-giessen.de/fb03/vinci/labore/netz/hag_cn.htm] (15.5.2004).Google Scholar
  14. 14.
    Hague, Barry N./ Loader, Brian D. (2001). Digital democracy: discourse and decision making in the Information Age. London, New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
  15. 15.
    Luksic, Andrej (2003) Hermesovi obrazi demokracije. In Andrej A. Luksic/ Tanja Oblak (ed.), Spoti v digitalno demokracijo, 11–33. LjubUana: Fakulteta za druzbene vede.Google Scholar
  16. 16.
    Makarovic, Matej (2002) Politicna participacija v desetletju demokratizacije. V N. Tos/ I. Bernik (ur.) Demokracija v Sloveniji, 65–87. Ljubbana: FDV, IDV, Center za raziskovanje javnega mnenja in mnozicnih komunikacij.Google Scholar
  17. 17.
    Neumann, Franz (1950) Politicka znanost u demokraciji. Treci program, st. 64 (1985),str. 363–378.Google Scholar
  18. 18.
    Nixon, P.,/H. Johansson (2001). Transparency through Technology: The Internet and Political Parties. In B. Hague/ B. Loader (ed.), Digital democracy: discourse and decision making in the Information Age, 135–153. London, New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
  19. 19.
    Norris, P. (2003) Preaching to the Converted: Pluralism, Participation and Party Web Sites. Party Politics 9(1): 21–45.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  20. 20.
    Oblak, Tanja (2003) Izzivi e-demokracije. Ljubljana: Fakulteta za druzbene vede.Google Scholar
  21. 21.
    Offe, Claus (1985) Druzbena moc in politicna oblast: protislovja kapitalisticne demokracije: razprave o politicni sociologiji poznega kapitalizma. Delavska enotnost. Ljubljana.Google Scholar
  22. 22.
    Perczynski P. (2001) Associo-deliberative democracy and qualitative participation. In Hirst, Paul/ Bader, Veit-Michael (ed.), Associative democracy: The Real Third Way, 71–84. London, Portland (OR): F. Cass.Google Scholar
  23. 23.
    Van Dijk, Jan A.G.M, (1996) Models of Democracy-Behind the Design and Use of New Media in Politics. Javnost 3(1), 43–56.Google Scholar
  24. 24.
    Van Selm, M., Jankowski N.W., Tsaliki, L. (2001). Political Parties Online: An Examination of Electronic Democracy on Three Dutch Political Party Web Sites. Paper presented at Euricom Colloquium: E-Networks & Democratic Life (Piran, Slovenia).Google Scholar
  25. 25.
    Trechsel, Alexandre H. (et al.) (2003) Evaluation of the use of new technologies in order to facilitate democracy in Europe: e-democratizing the parliaments and parties of Europe. Geneve: Research and Documentation Centre on Direct Democracy.Google Scholar
  26. 26.
    Tsagarousianou, Roza/ Tambini, Damian/ Bryan, Cathy (1998) Cyberdernocracy: technology, cities and civic networks. London, New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
  27. 27.
    Vreg, France (2001) Globalizacija in elektronska demokracija. Teorija in praksa 38 (1),5–28.Google Scholar
  28. 28.
    Vintar, Mirko/ Decman, Mitja/ KunsteU, Mateja (1999) Telematics and the Service of Democracy: The Slovenian Parliament and Other Slovenian Public Institutions on the Internet. Parliamentary Affairs 52, 3, 451–463.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  29. 29.
    Vodopivec, Franc/ Ursic, Sonja/ Franko, Maja (2002) Vec neposredne demokracije v Sloveniji — da ali ne. Novi trendi v javnem menedzmentu: predavanje 17. aprila 2002: zbomik referatov in razprav. Ljubljana: Drzavni svet Republike Slovenije.Google Scholar
  30. 30.
    Ward, S., Gibson, R. K., and Lusoli, W. (2003) Participation and Mobilisation Online: Hype, Hope and Reality. Parliamentary Affairs 56(3): 652–668.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Copyright information

© International Federation for Information Processing 2006

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.Faculty of Social SciencesUniversity of LjubljanaSlovenia

Personalised recommendations

Cite paper