Online forums and the enlargement of public space : research findings from a european project

Tsaliki, Liza (author)

This paper has focused on online political forums as newly emerged public spaces that contribute to the enhancement of public deliberation. Its aim has been to study the deliberative feature of the Internet and assess the extent to which ordinary citizens contribute to the political process through public debate online. The main research question is concerned with the way in which the Internet facilitates participation in politics, enables democratic deliberation, and provides a forum for reasoned argumentation. The extent to which this occurs has been studied through the content analysis of open publicforums in Greece, the Netherlands and Britain. Research findings show a high level of interactive communication, high degree of search for information, diversity of opinions and publics and a moderate degree of substantiated argumentation- indicating an enlargement of public space in principle. However, the analysis stresses that unless netizens test their opinions in public systematically, the notion of the Internet as a tool for democratic deliberation is seriously undermined and runs the risk of being replaced by a push-button democracy. In that respect, cyberspace resembles the familiar world of everyday politics as an arena for the ongoing struggle for power and influence, despite the hype surrounding it.

• Language: English
• Keywords: public, political participation, space, conference
• Work type: Not categorized
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: FDV - Faculty of Social Sciences
• Year: 2002
• Number of pages: Str. 95-112
• Numbering: Let. 9, št. 2
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-75776
• UDC: 004.738.5
• ISSN on article: 1318-3222
• COBISS.SI-ID: 21248093
• Publication date in RUL: 21.12.2015

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Javnost = The public
• Shortened title: Javnost
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis, European Institute for Communication and Culture
• ISSN: 1318-3222
• COBISS.SI-ID: 40119808

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Title: Razpravljalni forum in širitev javega prostora: rezultati evropskega raziskovalnega projekta

Abstract

Članek obravnava online politične forume kot nove oblike javnega prostora, ki prispevajo k širitvi javnega posvetovanja. Temeljno raziskovalno vprašanje zadeva načine, na katere internet olajšuje participacijo v politiki, omogoča javno posvetovanje in predstavlja forum za racionalno argumentacijo. Predmet analize so bili javni forumi v Grčiji, na Nizozemskem in v Veliki Britaniji. Rezultati kažejo visoko raven interaktivnega komuniciranja, visoko stopnjo iskanja informacij, raznovrstnost mnenj in javnosti in skromno stopnjo argumentiranja, kar v celoti kaže na razširjanje javnega prostora. Avtorica hkrati poudarja, da je ideja interneta kot orodja demokratičnega posvetovanja lahko močno problematična in se približuje demokraciji "pritiskanja na gumbe",če "internetni državljani" sistematično ne preskušajo svojih mnenj. V tem pogledu kibernetski prostor spominja na običajni svet vsakodnevne politike kot arene, v kateri poteka boj za moč in vpliv.

• Keywords: javnost, politična participacija, prostor, posvetovanje