Top Trumps or Trivial
Pursuit? Redefining the
Rules of Political
Engagement in the Age of
Web 2.0
Shefali Virkar Oxford Internet Institute/
Department of Politics and IR
University of Oxford
Young Citizens, Old Problems
Increased questioning of traditional democratic politics in Western liberal democracies
Growing political apathy and a broader disillusionment with political institutions, policies and actors - e.g. low voter turn-out.
Particularly true amongst young people
Are we seeing a crisis of democracy ?
Breaking Barriers to
eGovernment
Exploring eConsultation
Initiatives in the European
Union
e-Governance
e-Government e-Democracy
e-Engagement e-Voting
Category 1: Duration
Long Term Consultations
Long-lasting initiatives, not bound within any
time-period
Short Term Consultations
Citizen opinions sought on key political
events, during a specific period of time
One-off Consultations
Highly specialised, issue-based often ad hoc consultations
Citizen reaction sought for current issues
Come to a close once event ends / time-
period is over
Category 2 : Level of Government
Local Government
National Government
Regional Government/Pan European
Initiatives
Category 3: Target Audience
The General Public
Participation invited from the general
populace on a wide-ranging variety of issues
Targeted / Special Interest Groups
Feedback obtained for specific issues of
immediate concern
UK Parliamentary Consultations (such as
FloodForum.net, Domestic Violence)
eConsultation in the
United Kingdom
The No.10 Downing Street
ePetitions Initiative
An Introduction to Petitioning
What is a petition? A formal request to a higher authority
such as a Head of State or Parliament, signed by one or a number of citizens
Traditionally paper-based
Not meant to be representative of a countrys opinion
Advent of Web 2.0: The Rise of the ePetition Different from conventional petitions only in
the way signatures are collected and delivered
Petitioning in the United Kingdom
Long-established convention of petitioning
the Prime Minister
Petitions traditionally submitted in person at
the door of No.10
Received a 21st century make-over: The PMs ePetitions Website launched in November
2006
Joint venture between the Prime Ministers Office and mySociety
ePetition Website: Key Features
Home Page
View recently submitted petitions, or
petitions according to popularity ranking
Create/Submit a Petition
Petitioners create petitions using an
ePetitions form Petitions must conform to certain
standards set down in the Civil Service
Code
On average 1 in 6 petitions are rejected
Sign a Petition
Data Protection
Once submitted, a petition may be signed by anyone accessing the site Feedback
Petitioners email address used by the Government for providing feedback
A maximum of two responses from
Government to issues raised, and two
replies by the petitioner Data held by mySociety and not by the
PMO or any other Government agency
Advantages to ePetitioning
The website allows for informed petitioning
and a better quality of participation
Easy to obtain background information
before signing up
Citizens able to research the finer points of
an issue before deciding whether or not to
support it
Citizens receive feedback on the progress of
their petition, once signed
From a Government standpoint, the initiative
aids informed decision-making and better
dialogue with citizens
Popular petitions and citizen comments may
be used during the policy process
Extremely popular petitions may serve to
highlight issues and uncover underlying
discontents which have not yet been picked
up by the media
New Opportunities, Old Problems
Most petitions can be ignored by the Government without fear of retaliation
Tendency for serious petitions to get mixed up with not-so-serious ones
Government must strike a balance between the overarching democratic requirements of openness, accessibility and participation and the need to keep within stringent Data Protection standards
In addition, the initiative faces many old and well-known stumbling blocks, including:
Political Apathy
Lack of Publicly Available Information
Selection of Participants
Difficulties of Dealing with Expectations
Problems of Digital and Social Exclusion
By combining traditional access to politics with technology ePetitions are a powerful way of making politicians aware of a section of public opinion
However
An ePetition itself simply indicates what one group of people think on a subject
The ePetitions system is a direct replica of the traditional petitions model, and not a radically new democratic process
Exploring the Past, Present &
Future of e-Democracy in the
EU and Beyond
Engaging the Public
Privacy and security issues
The role of moderators in discussions
The stage in the policymaking process at which consultations should be introduced
New Issues, New Questions
Remote user authentication to prevent fraud
and identity theft
Ability of process to generate trust and
increase participation
Danger that opinions which are outside of
pre-defined parameters may be deliberately
marginalised or excluded
Can Government 2.0 offer something radically different from Government 1.0?
Will new forms of voter engagement like the ePetitions lead to changes in policy, or will entire exercises be quietly forgotten after any initial hype?
Are there a fresh set of ways in which advances in Web technology may be applied to help bring communities together and enable government to deliver public services that meet personal, family and community choices?
Madrid Participa (Spain)
Iperbole (Italy)
Bristol City Council (UK)
The No. 10 Downing
Street ePetitions
Website (UK)
Tana Otsustan Mina
(Estonia)
The Scottish
Parliamentary
Initiative (UK)
Your Voice in Europe
(the European
Commission)
The City of
Esslingen (Germany)
Digital Administration
Programme the
Democracy Project
(Denmark)
Energy Technology
Futures (Canada)
Toute lEurope
(based in France)
The City Planning
Commission of Kalix
(Sweden)
Online Parliamentary
Inquiry into Domestic
Violence (UK)
FloodForum.net (UK)
The Future of Food
(Germany / the
Netherlands)
Local National Pan-European L
on
g
Te
rm
Sh
ort
Te
rm
On
e-o
ff
Can Government 2.0 offer something radically different from Government 1.0?
Will new forms of voter engagement like the ePetitions lead to changes in policy, or will entire exercises be quietly forgotten after any initial hype?
Are there a fresh set of ways in which advances in Web technology may be applied to help bring communities together, create new spaces for constructive democratic interaction and enable government to deliver public services that meet personal, family and community choices?