LibGuides: Local democracy in 2020: Digital democracy

Reaching in - The potential for e-petitions in local government in the United Kingdom (published: 2016)
This article considers the extent to which petitions and e-petitions might allow citizens to ‘reach in’ to local authorities in the United Kingdom. It examines how e-petitions sit against wider debates about the use of technology and digital democracy and the extent to which petitions systems might align with traditional approaches to representative democracy.
E-Voting Solutions for Digital Democracy in Knowledge Society (published: 2016)
Emergent technologies specific to current information and knowledge society, and social networks influence every aspect of our existence, from lucrative activities to recreational ones. There is no part of our life that is not influenced by the explosive development of general information and communication technologies. We witness a spectacular and until recently unimagined metamorphoses of work nature, business process reengineering, controversial evolution of social networks and new directions of electronic government. Over this background of changes, we take on the tasks of deepening the understanding of field that is largely unexplored, namely the electronic vote in digital democracy.
Digital Democracy in Belgium and the Netherlands. A Socio-Legal Analysis of Citizenlab.be and Consultatie.nl
Does the dawn of ubiquitous networked computing catalyse a deepening of democracy? Or is democratic empowerment through digital devices and online applications just a fantasy? In order to inform the ongoing debate with empirical findings, a case study design involving two manifestations of digital democracy around 2015 in the Low Countries is applied.
Engaging citizens in the decision-making process - opportunities of digital democracy in Latvia (published: 2019)
The paper analysis Latvian public administration’s attitude to the development of digital democracy in Latvia, looking into digital engagement as a possible solution that could foster the low rates of civic and political participation in Latvia.
Open government - a tool for democracy (published: 2016)
The aim of this article is to present the first findings of an international research project about open government and participatory platforms in four European countries (France, Italy, Spain, the UK). The study tries to understand if participatory platforms can improve the quality of democracy, and if open government can contribute to democratizing democracy.
Digital democracy: from status activus digitalis to disinformation – towards a new wave of judicialization of politics (published: 2019)
This Article intends to develop the notion of status activus digitalis as a fundamental legal condition of the individual in times of digital democracy.
How has Covid-19 changed lobbying across Europe (published: 2020)
Drawing on new research, Anne Rasmussen explains how lobbying has changed during the pandemic. She writes that while the relative access of different group types to Covid-19 meetings looks similar to other topics, the format of lobbying activities, notably the greater use of digital lobbying, could affect potential biases in the representation of different types of interest group.
E-democracy - A new challenge for measuring democracy (published: 2019)
Digital media is ascribed significant potential for democratizing political communication and processes. There is still, however, a lack of empirical evidence and adequate understanding concerning the question of whether digital media can contribute to an improvement in democratic quality. In response to this question, the present article proposes a concept of e-democracy and an analytical framework for measuring it.
The Role of e-Participation and Open Data in Evidence-Based Policy Decision Making in Local Government (published: 2016)
This paper examines how e-participation platforms and the use of open data can facilitate more factual, evidence based and transparent policy decision making and evaluation. The paper also offers valuable insights to public administrations on how open data can be utilised for evidence-based policy decision making and evaluation.

European E-Democracy in Practice (published: 2020)
This book explores how digital tools and social media technologies can contribute to better participation and involvement of EU citizens in European politics. By analyzing selected representative e-participation projects at the local, national and European governmental levels, it identifies the preconditions, best practices and shortcomings of e-participation practices in connection with EU decision-making procedures and institutions.
Digital Democracy - the tools transforming political engagement (published: 2017)
Democratic institutions today look much as they have done for decades, if not centuries. We still live in a world where debates require speakers to be physically present, there is little use of digital information and data sharing during parliamentary sessions, and where UK MPs vote by walking through corridors. At the same time almost every other sphere of life - finance, tourism, shopping, work and our social relationships - has been dramatically transformed by the rise of new information and communication tools, particularly social media or by the opportunities opened through increased access to and use of data, or novel approaches to solving problems, such as via crowdsourcing or the rise of the sharing economy. This publication discusses the rise of digital democracy.
Report on e-democracy in the European Union: potential and challenges (published: 2017)
by the European Parliament
The future of digital democracy (published: 2020)
Interviews about citizen's participation, innovation and leadership in the digital age.
Digital era local government in England (published: 2016)
This paper challenges the importance of digital-centric approaches to local government service improvement. A more nuanced theoretical approach to online service delivery is advocated, which discards utopian enthusiasm and focuses on concrete service improvements. It is recommended that full-population quantitative analyses be used more broadly in political science, with awareness of both the opportunities and the challenges associated with them.