Towards a New Democratic Political Communication: Information Communication Technologies and Politics

Abstract

Writing in 1993, Harry Rheingold in the quotation above captures the idealism that pervades discussion of the social and political impact of Information Communication Technologies (ICTs), especially the Internet. Their widespread use and potential have suggested nothing less than a revolution in political communication: their speed, their promise of greater levels of interactivity and connectivity,¹ the absence of hierarchies and the possibilities offered by an unfettered and unmediated source of communication have together contributed their appeal to democratic theory. Idealists claim that the Internet has the capacity to transform political life by creating networks of globally or locally active citizens and by developing public spheres where they can participate in decision-making and help set the political agenda (Rheingold, 1993; Negroponte, 1995; Grossman, 1995; Schwartz, 1996; Budge, 1996; Brants et al., 1996; Tsagarousianou et al., 1997; Dertouzos, 1997). They believe that the Internet offers the reaffirmation of direct democracy through the creation of ‘virtual forums’ or new public spaces that will have particular relevance for the proliferating networks of global social movements. The Internet bestows upon civil society a selection of fundamentally new communication strategies that have the capacity to transform their more traditional approaches that we discussed in Chapter 4.

The internet … if properly understood and defended and understood by enough citizens, does have democratising potential in the same way that alphabets and printing presses had democratising potential.

— Harry Rheingold (1993:279).

If putting government online is just a way of reinforcing access for people who probably already have more opportunity to access government and decision-makers, then it hasn’t really been much of an advance after all.

— David Agnew, Governance in the Digital Economy Project, Toronto.