E-participation as a possible upgrading of representative democracy

Gaber, Slavko (author), Mojškerc, Nataša (author)

After less than 120 years of fully fledged representative democracy, and with the crisis and possibly even the dead end of the existing way of production, questioning the future of democracy is back again. It is claimed that direct democracy may be the next step of the development of the political system. The present article considers a less ambitious project, presenting a possible upgrading of representative democracy in Slovenia, a country with a short history of functioning representative democracy and with the experience of an experiment in direct democracy, which collapsed together with the Socialist Republic of Yugoslavia. The article presents a model that should enable the widening of democratic participation in decision making, and discusses the possible engagement of increasingly educated civil society in political deliberation, making use of the internet and new media. The proposed Slovenian model of junctures of democracy emerged after intensive and prolonged discussion within the so-called "Free University" that emerged after public protests in 2013. As an example of good practice enabling reflection on the possible upgrading of representative democracy in Slovenia, we refer to the Finnish practice of e-democracy at the local level (in particular the Tampere case) and at the state level.

• Language: English
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: PEF - Faculty of Education
• Year: 2014
• Number of pages: Str. 1242-1262, 1408
• Numbering: Letn. 51, št. 6
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-85267
• UDC: 321.7:004.738.5
• ISSN on article: 0040-3598
• COBISS.SI-ID: 10359113
• Publication date in RUL: 20.09.2017

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Teorija in praksa : revija za družbena vprašanja
• Shortened title: Teor. praksa
• Publisher: Fakulteta za družbene vede
• ISSN: 0040-3598
• COBISS.SI-ID: 763652

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian

Abstract

Po manj kot 120 letih polno razvite predstavniške demokracije se ob krizi in možnem koncu obstoječega načina produkcije ponovno pojavljajo vprašanja o prihodnosti demokracije. Neposredno demokracijo mnogi vidijo kot naslednji možni korak v razvoju političnega sistema prihodnosti. Članek obravnava manj ambiciozen projekt in predstavlja možno nadgradnjo predstavniške demokracije v Sloveniji, državi s kratko zgodovino delovanja predstavniške demokracije in z izkušnjo poskusa uvedbe neposredne demokracije, ki je propadla skupaj s socialistično republiko Jugoslavijo. V prispevku je prikazan model, ki bi omogočil širjenje demokratične vključenosti v odločanje; obravnavana je možnost sodelovanja vse bolj izobražene civilne družbe pri demokratičnem premisleku s pomočjo interneta in novih medijev. Predlagani model stičišč demokracije je nastal po daljši razpravi v okviru Svobodne univerze - razpravi, ki je vzniknila po javnih protestih leta 2013. Kot primer dobre prakse, ki omogoča refleksijo možne nadgradnje predstavniške demokracije v Sloveniji, uporabljamo finsko delovanje e-demokracije na lokalni ravni (mesto Tampere) in na državni ravni.

• Keywords: predstavniška demokracija, neposredna demokracija, Slovenija