Online Democratic Deliberation in a Time of Information Abundance

Authors

Craig Bellamy, King's College, London

Abstract

The intensified use of the Internet by civil society groups and governments for political purposes has left many questions unexplained—especially in terms of the Internet’s effects upon deliberative democratic processes. The Internet was first imagined as a means to revitalize deliberative processes. However, poor design and lack of usability research meant that many ambitions went largely unrealized. With a new wave of Internet technologies, ‘deliberative design’ has become even more important to stem what many claim is a trend towards political fragmentation and disaggregation. In a time of ‘information abundance’ mounting political communication online may also undermine collectivist, deliberative democratic processes, distinct from the ambition to renew these processes. There is therefore a pressing need to design Internet technologies that serve deliberative democracy, rather than unwittingly undermine it.

Recommended Citation

Bellamy, Craig (2006) "Online Democratic Deliberation in a Time of Information Abundance," Fast Capitalism: Vol. 2: Iss. 2, Article 14.
DOI: 10.32855/1930-014X.1470
Available at: https://mavmatrix.uta.edu/fastcapitalism/vol2/iss2/14