Enhancing Participation and Transparency in the EU Interactive Policy Making Initiative

The potential that information- and communication technologies have to promote democracy and improve transparency increasingly attracts the interest of researchers and policy-makers. Both social media and mobile connectivity are linked to the idea of providing channels “not just for mass dissemination but also for mass production and collaboration” in the political sphere (Linders, 2012, p.1). These new means may alter how the government and the public interact, develop solutions for perceived democratic deficits and improve the delivery of public services (ibid). Because of the relatively limited costs of Internet communication in terms of time, material- and human resources and its decentralized as well as interactive features, ICTs are believed to lead to a more open and democratic exchange of information and political participation. In consideration of the decreasing trust in EU institutions and EU’s supposed democratic deficit, the Internet might provide a new way of improving the relationship between European citizens and Brussels. However, from a normative perspective, concerns have been voiced about the gap between “technology haves and have-nots”, pointing to the potential digital divide (West, 2000, p.3). Next to the lack of both access to new technologies and the necessary skills to work with software and hardware, the promotion of these new instruments to the wider public remains another obstacle to complete democratic participation.