Category Archives: Digital Democracy

Digital Democracy: From Capacity to Influence; a Brief Intro

The research that this slideshow summarises sets out to explore why our democratic models are failing in the face of the interactive web and its endless opportunities for exchange and dialogue, and how a better democratic model – taking these opportunities into consideration – could be designed.

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Online-Bürgerbeteiligung im Aufwind

Auch, wenn es erst einige wenige Beispiele gibt: Bei der elektronischen Bürgerbeteiligung tut sich etwas.

Während elektronische Beteiligungsangebote auf Bundes- und Länderebene noch keinen Durchbruch erzielen konnten, sind Angebote wie „Liquid Friesland“ vor allem in Städten und Gemeinden auf dem Vormarsch. Besonders Online-Bürgerhaushalte sind bereits fest etabliert.

Durch das Internet haben sich die Möglichkeiten direkter demokratischer Einflussnahme stark erhöht. Unter dem Oberbegriff E-Demokratie versammeln sich verschiedene onlinebasierte demokratische Beteiligungsverfahren und Formate wie E-Partizipation, E-Government, E-Voting, Online-Kampagnen und Petitionen. Dabei bestehen enge Verbindungen zum Konzept der Liquid Democracy.

Viele Städte und Gemeinden haben bereits E-Partizipationsangebote entwickelt. Dabei nehmen sie gegenüber Landes- und Bundesverwaltungen häufig eine Vorreiterrolle ein. Continue reading

Liquid Democracy: The App That Turns Everyone into a Politician

GrüneFraktionBayern_LD

Photo by Grüne Fraktion Bayern under CC-BY

Liquid Democracy is one of the boldest contemporary innovations in democratic decision-making. The idea uses web technology that allows users to interact in new ways. Its primary innovators are located in Berlin, and Germany has been the first to adopt and apply Liquid Democracy systems in the context of political parties, parliamentary processes and some organizations. Continue reading

Digital Democracy: A New Political Contract

This paper argues that a ‘digital-political evolution’ should not base itself on what politicians can offer their voters, but on what voters can offer their politicians – i.e. their vote. Only then will peoples’ concerns gain priority over those of the politicians. One may argue that there is nothing new in this, but given that our electoral systems are dominated by the preferences of the politicians’ political parties – rather than those of the voters1 – any democratic evolution ought to start by changing the conditions under which the vote itself is given to the politician, and/or his/her party. In other words, the objective of the evolution is a different ‘political contract’ between the electorate and those seeking election. This is therefore first and foremost a matter of a democratic evolution – not of a digital revolution – although the digital revolution constitutes this process’ intellectual and technical backdrop. Continue reading

Nishant Shah: Citizen Action in a Networked Society

Nishant Shah, Center for Internet and Society in Bangalore and CDC Leuphana University Lüneburg: Citizen Action in a Networked Society
at CDC, Leuphana University Lüneburg, 16.01.2013

Moderator: Oliver Lerone Schultz
Video recording: Oliver Rauch, André Grzeszyk
Video editing: Volker Grassmuck