E-democracy - Benefits, Disadvantages and Challenges

Benefits, Disadvantages and Challenges

Information and communications technologies are neither democratic nor undemocratic; they are merely means to an end and not normative by their nature. They are tools that may be deployed to achieve certain goals. And these goals may even be contradictory (e.g. both coercive control and participation can be fostered by digital technology). While many celebrate the Internet as a tool for democracy, it should not be forgotten that the earlier visions of an Informatization-State were rather frightening, such as the one told by George Orwell in his Nineteen Eighty-Four. While technologies can be used for the good and bad, certain institutional framework conditions may either support or hamper the use of electronic means for the benefit of democratic processes. Risks and opportunities of the digitization of democratic processes depends therefore to a large extent upon the particular institutional framework conditions of the chosen democratic model (which is mainly set out in the Constitution, including the type of the underlying social contract, specific aspects of the rule of law, representative democracy or direct democracy, etc.).

The benefits of online democratic options are that it allows for participation which is specialized for individuals. The democratic values of freedom of speech are promoted through forums in which citizens can sway ideas and viewpoints. Their participation in elections and their government can be tailored for them, in that it is flexible, easily accessed, and inclusive to all, regardless of area or access to resources. Ari- Veikko Anttiroiko describes the actions of e-democracy as aiding the social construction of inclusiveness, tailored participation and sensitivity to individual preferences and life-cycles, efficiency and flexibility of participation, and relevance of participation and scales and levels of influence. However, he also notes that "its development is conditioned by such pervasive changes as increased interdependency, technological multimediation, partnership governance, and individualism." All these factors present the challenges that e-democracy presents, while trying to obtain a greater democratic participation and awareness. Although e-democracy is important due to its ability to transform to accommodate today's society, they also need to meet the needs of a postmodern culture, an information society, developmentalism, and a network society which will emerge from the abilities that online democratic measures allow.