Electronic Democracy in Europe

By: Ralf Lindner and Georg Aichholzer and Leonhard Hennen

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Synopsis: This edited book is the first of its kind tosystematically address the intersection of e-democracy and European politics. It contributes to an improved understanding of the role that new mediatechnologies play in European politics and the potential impact thatInternet-based political participation processes may have on modern-dayrepresentative democracy in Europe. A unique, holistic approach is taken to examinee-democracy's current state and prospects in Europe from three, partiallyoverlapping and interlocking perspectives: e-public, e-participation ande-voting. The authors provide both theory-inspired reflections on e-democracy'scontribution to the formation of the European public sphere, as well as richempirical analyses of contemporary e-participation phenomena such as theEuropean Citizens' Initiative or e-voting practices in Estonia. Based on the presentedfindings, the concluding chapter combines a prospective outlook withrecommendations for future paths towards meaningful integration of e-democracyin European politics and governance.