Page 267 - Comparing Political Communication Theories, Cases, and Challenge

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Political Communication and Electronic Democracy

Courtemphasizethistraditioninaverypersuasivemanner.Therisksthat
come with using public discussion fora can therefore only be controlled
in the American case by not using discussion fora at all. Contrary to this,
in Sweden and Germany, improper contributions to public discussion
fora can be censored on the basis of the principle of fair speech.
The most towering motivation for U.S. representatives to remain on
guard regarding electronic democracy was their sense of being after all
part of a deliberative institution that has to strike a balance between
the representative function and the function of making authoritative
decisions. According to some of the MPs under study this requires the
ability to bargain, to compromise, and to look into the merits of an issue.
The deeply ingrained sense of the need to perform this function appears
to be a major roadblock toward a bolder approach toward electronic
democracy even in the context of American democracy.
While the institutional context in European democracies is less sup-
portive of electronic democracy it does not completely discourage de-
velopments in this direction. Parliaments in modern democracies are
based upon the principle of a division of labor. Individual MPs special-
ize in particular policy fields and function as the spokesperson of their
party in their area of expertise. Some of the respondents refer to these
professional reasons to explain their interest in computer networks as a
medium of communication. A German member who deals with issues
of telecommunications policy in his party explains: 7

Ideal with issues of media technology in the policy areas of edu-
cation and research. I have the feeling that I have to get first hand
experience of everything that is going on in this field.

These latter examples indicate that institutional context can be ambigu-
ous in its impact on choices in networked communication. While some
features might encourage developments toward electronic democracy
others might work in the opposite way. This observation leads us to
conclude that electronic democracy is an American model with reser-
vations. Compared to the European situation, specific features of the
Americaninstitutionalcontextaremoresupportiveofelectronicdemoc-
racy. But, while American democracy creates some roadblocks to elec-
tronic democracy, the European context offers some opportunities too.

7
The following quote was translated by the author.

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