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  • © 2014

The Internet and Democracy in Global Perspective

Voters, Candidates, Parties, and Social Movements

  • Addresses the timely topic of the Internet and social media in elections and democracy
  • Features contributions from the world's leading experts
  • Includes case studies from around the world
  • Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras

Part of the book series: Studies in Public Choice (SIPC, volume 31)

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Table of contents (7 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-ix
  2. Introduction

    • Rachel Gibson
    Pages 1-5
  3. Internet Voting in a Local Election in Canada

    • Nicole J. Goodman
    Pages 7-24
  4. Indirect Campaigning: Past, Present and Future of Voting Advice Applications

    • Diego Garzia, Alexander H. Trechsel, Kristjan Vassil, Elias Dinas
    Pages 25-41
  5. Digital Media and the 2010 National Elections in Brazil

    • Jason Gilmore, Philip N. Howard
    Pages 43-55
  6. Virtual Power Plays: Social Movements, Internet Communication Technology, and Political Parties

    • Deana A. Rohlinger, Leslie A. Bunnage, Jesse Klein
    Pages 83-109
  7. Back Matter

    Pages 129-148

About this book

This volume provides an important update to our current understanding of politics and the internet in a variety of new contexts, both geographically and institutionally. The subject of e-democracy has morphed over the years from speculative and optimistic accounts of a future heightened direct citizen involvement in political decision-making and an increasingly withered state apparatus, to more prosaic investigations of party and governmental website content and micro level analyses of voters’ online activities. Rather than levelling the communications and participation playing field, most studies concluded that existing patterns of bias and power distribution were being repeated online, with the one exception of a genuine change in the potential for protest and e-activism. Across all of these accounts, the question remains whether the internet is a levelling communication tool that elevates the profile of marginalised players in the political system, or whether it is a medium that simply reinforces existing power and participatory biases. While employing case studies from various global perspectives, this book investigates the role of digital media and competitive advantage, campaigns and the effect of social media, online communication as way of fomenting nonviolent revolutions and the undeniable and important role of the internet on democracy around the world.

Editors and Affiliations

  • School of Social Sciences Center for the Study of Democracy, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, USA

    Bernard Grofman

  • Depart. of Political and Social Sciences, European University Institute (Fiesole), Florence, Italy

    Alexander H. Trechsel

  • Department of Political Science, MIT, Cambridge, USA

    Mark Franklin

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: The Internet and Democracy in Global Perspective

  • Book Subtitle: Voters, Candidates, Parties, and Social Movements

  • Editors: Bernard Grofman, Alexander H. Trechsel, Mark Franklin

  • Series Title: Studies in Public Choice

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-04352-4

  • Publisher: Springer Cham

  • eBook Packages: Humanities, Social Sciences and Law, Political Science and International Studies (R0)

  • Copyright Information: Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2014

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-319-04351-7Published: 17 March 2014

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-3-319-38030-8Published: 03 September 2016

  • eBook ISBN: 978-3-319-04352-4Published: 08 July 2014

  • Series ISSN: 0924-4700

  • Series E-ISSN: 2731-5258

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: IX, 148

  • Number of Illustrations: 7 b/w illustrations, 6 illustrations in colour

  • Topics: Political Science, Political Communication, Media Management, Media Research

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access