Decidim, a Technopolitical Network for Participatory Democracy

Decidim, a Technopolitical Network for Participatory Democracy
Author: Xabier E. Barandiaran
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 145
Release: 2024-02-20
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 3031507843

This Open Access book explains the philosophy, design principles, and community organization of Decidim and provides essential insights into how the platform works. Decidim is the world leading digital infrastructure for participatory democracy, built entirely and collaboratively as free software, and used by more than 500 institutions with over three million users worldwide. The platform allows any organization (government, association, university, NGO, neighbourhood, or cooperative) to support multitudinous processes of participatory democracy. In a context dominated by corporate-owned digital platforms, in the era of increasing social structuring via Artificial Intelligence, Decidim stands as a public or community owned platform for collective human intelligence. Yet, the project is much more than its technological features. Decidim is in itself a crossroad of the various dimensions of the networked society, a detailed practical map of its complexities and conflicts. The authors distinguish three general dimensions of the project: (1) the political - shedding light on the democratic model that Decidim promotes and its impact on public policies and organizations, (2) the technopolitical - explaining how this technology is democratically designed and managed to produce and protect certain political effects, and (3) the technical - presenting the conditions of production, operation, and success of the project. This book systematically covers those three levels in an academically sound, technologically consistent, and politically innovative manner. Serving as a useful resource and handbook for the use of Decidim, it will not only appeal to students and scholars interested in participatory and digital democracy but also to professionals, policy-makers, and a wider audience interested in learning more about the Decidim platform. This is an open access book.

Digital Media Integration for Participatory Democracy

Digital Media Integration for Participatory Democracy
Author: Luppicini, Rocci
Publisher: IGI Global
Total Pages: 280
Release: 2017-02-27
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1522524649

Digital technology has revitalized the landscape of political affairs. As e-government continues to become more prominent in society, conducting further research in this realm is vital to promoting democratic advancements. Digital Media Integration for Participatory Democracy provides a comprehensive examination of the latest methods and trends used to engage citizens with the political world through new information and communication technologies. Highlighting innovative practices and applications across a variety of areas such as technoethics, civic literacy, virtual reality, and social networking, this book is an ideal reference source for government officials, academicians, students, and researchers interested in the enhancement of citizen engagement in modern democracies.

The Participatory Democracy Turn

The Participatory Democracy Turn
Author: Laurence Bherer
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 281
Release: 2018-12-07
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1351382942

Since the 1960s, participatory discourses and techniques have been at the core of decision making processes in a variety of sectors around the world ā€“ a phenomenon often referred to as the participatory turn. Over the years, this participatory turn has given birth to a large array of heterogeneous participatory practices developed by a wide variety of organizations and groups, as well as by governments. Among the best-known practices of citizen participation are participatory budgeting, citizen councils, public consultations, etc. However, these experiences are sometimes far from the original 1960sā€™ radical conception of participatory democracy, which had a transformative dimension and aimed to overcome unequal relationships between the state and society and emancipate and empower citizens in their daily lives. This book addresses four sets of questions: what do participatory practices mean today?; what does it mean to participate for participants, from the perspective of citizenship building?; how the processes created by the participatory turn have affected the way political representation functions?; and does the participatory turn also mean changing relationships and dynamics among civil servants, political representatives, and citizens? Overall, the contributions in this book illustrate and grasp the complexity of the so-called participatory turn. It shows that the participatory turn now includes several participatory democracy projects, which have different effects on the overall system depending on the principles that they advocate. This book was originally published as a special issue of the Journal of Civil Society.

Emerging Developments and Technologies in Digital Government

Emerging Developments and Technologies in Digital Government
Author: Guo, Yuanyuan
Publisher: IGI Global
Total Pages: 443
Release: 2024-04-15
Genre: Political Science
ISBN:

As the digital government field continues to evolve rapidly, scholars and professionals must stay ahead of the curve by developing innovative solutions and gaining comprehensive insights. The global landscape of digital governance is undergoing transformative shifts, necessitating a deep understanding of historical developments, current practices, and emerging trends. This urgent demand for knowledge forms the crux of the problem that the book, Emerging Developments and Technologies in Digital Government, addresses with expert knowledge and insights. The book serves as an indispensable resource for academic scholars grappling with the complexities of digital government. It critically examines historical transitions from technology-centric paradigms to people-centric models, shedding light on the global impact of open data initiatives and the vital role of human-computer interaction in reshaping government websites. For professionals and researchers across disciplines such as library sciences, administrative management, sociology, and information technology, this book becomes a beacon, offering insights and tangible solutions to navigate the multifaceted dimensions of digital government.

Democracy and Technology

Democracy and Technology
Author: Richard Sclove
Publisher: Guilford Press
Total Pages: 356
Release: 1995-07-28
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 9780898628616

Intended for anyone interested in democracy and public policy, social justice and empowerment, political economy and business or the social consequences of technology and architecture.

Cyberdemocracy

Cyberdemocracy
Author: Cathy Bryan
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 324
Release: 2002-04-12
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1134695551

Developments in information technology and the internet are taking place at an almost bewildering pace. Such improvements, however, are believed to present opportunities for improving the responsiveness and accountability of political institutions and enhancing citizen participation. In Cyberdemocracy the theoretical arguments for and against "electronic democracy" and the potential of information and communication technology are closely examined. The book is underpinned by a series of case studies in the US and Europe that demonstrate the application of "electronic democracy" in a number of city and civic projects. Cyberdemocracy provides a balanced and considered evaluation of the potential for "electronic democracy" based on empirical research. It will be a valuable contribution to a vigorous debate about the state of democracy and the influence of information technology. Roza Tsagarousianou is a lecturer and researcher at the Centre for Communication and Information Studies of the University of Westminster. Damian Tambini is a research fellow at Humbolt University, Berlin. Cathy Bryan is a researcher at Informed Sources and is concerned with developments in media and communications technologies.

The Prospect of Internet Democracy

The Prospect of Internet Democracy
Author: Michael Margolis
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 200
Release: 2016-02-24
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1317018826

The internet opens up new opportunities for citizens to organize and mobilize for action but it also provides new channels that established political, social and economic interests can use to extend their powers. Will the internet revolutionize politics? The Prospect of Internet Democracy is a rich and detailed exploration of the theoretical implications of the internet and related information and communication technologies (ICTs) for democratic theory. Focusing in particular on how political uses of the internet have affected or seem likely to affect patterns of influence among citizens, interest groups and political institutions, the authors examine whether the internet's impact on democratic politics is destined to repeat the history of other innovative ICTs. The volume explores the likely long-term effects of such uses on the conduct of politics in the USA and other nations that declare themselves modern democracies and assesses the extent to which they help or hinder viable democratic governance.

Reclaiming Participatory Governance

Reclaiming Participatory Governance
Author: Adrian Bua
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 230
Release: 2023-05-12
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1000881091

Reclaiming Participatory Governance offers empirical and theoretical perspectives on how the relationship between social movements and state institutions is emerging and developing through new modes of participatory governance. One of the most interesting political developments of the past decade has been the adoption by social movements of strategies seeking to change political institutions through participatory governance. These strategies have flourished in a variety of contexts, from anti-austerity and pro-social justice protests in Spain, to movements demanding climate transition and race equality in the UK and the USA, to constitutional reforms in Belgium and Iceland. The chief ambition and challenge of these new forms of participatory governance is to institutionalise the prefigurative politics and social justice values that inspired them in the first place, by mobilising the bureaucracy to respond to their claims for reforms and rights. The authors of this volume assess how participatory governance is being transformed and explore the impact of such changes, providing timely critical reflections on: the constraints imposed by cultural, economic and political power relations on these new empowered participatory spaces; the potential of this new "wave" of participatory democracy to reimagine the relationship between citizens and traditional institutions towards more radical democratic renewal; where and how these new democratisation efforts sit within the representative state; and how tensions between the different demands of lay citizens, organised civil society and public officials are being managed. This book will be an important resource for students and academics in political science, public administration and social policy, as well as activists, practitioners and policymakers interested in supporting innovative engagement for deeper social transformation. Chapter 11 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF at http://www.taylorfrancis.com under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license.

Technology and Citizen Participation in the Construction of Democracy

Technology and Citizen Participation in the Construction of Democracy
Author:
Publisher: UN
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2012
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 9789211263367

"As we live in an age of technological acceleration this book is very much of its time. Its ten essays, written from different outlooks, discuss how technologies, social networking and, in general, the Web 2.0 platforms that are applied and used when dealing with electoral and participatory democracy. The publication's background, its essential component, points to the ever-increasing ability of citizens to change their situations when they have better access to information. This edition is part of the work carried out at the international seminar Technology and Citizen Participation in the Construction of Democracy, co-organized by IEPC Jalisco and UNDP Mexico. It is displayed as a logbook, an exercise in reflection and a comprehensive study about electronic democracy and how it is related to citizenship building and citizen participation."--P. [4] of cover.