POLITICAL PARTIES AND THE INTERNET: NET GAIN?; ED. BY RACHEL GIBSON

Can the Internet help to re-engage the public in politics? How are political parties using the Internet as a communication tool? Has politics changed in the information age? This book provides an assessment of how political parties are adapting to the rise of new information and communication technologies and what the consequences will be. It includes case studies of the US, the UK, Australia, Korea, Mexico, France, Romania and the Mediterranean region. Book Cover......Page 1 Title......Page 4 Contents......Page 5 List of illustrations......Page 8 List of contributors......Page 10 Acknowledgements......Page 14 Introduction......Page 16 Parties and the Internet: an overview......Page 26 Political parties and democracy in the information age......Page 54 Major parties dominate, minor parties struggle: US elections and the Internet......Page 68 Southern European parties and party systems, and the new ICTs......Page 85 A marriage made in cyberspace? Political marketing and UK party websites......Page 113 Moving towards an evolution in political mediation? French political parties and the new ICTs......Page 135 Letting the daylight in? Australian parties' use of the World Wide Web at the state and territory level......Page 154 The democratising potential of the Internet and political parties in Romania......Page 176 Democratisation, parties and the net: Mexico model or aberration?......Page 190 Online groups and offline parties: Korean politics and the Internet......Page 210 Extremism on the net: the extreme right and the value of the Internet......Page 233 Conclusions: the net change......Page 249 Index......Page 259 Parties and the Internet : an overview / Stephen Ward, Rachel Gibson, and Paul Nixon Political parties and democracy in the information age / Karl Löfgren and Colin Smith Major parties dominate, minor parties struggle : US elections and the Internet / Michael Margolis, David Resnick, and Jonathan Levy South European parties and party systems, and the new ICTs / Carlos Cunha, Irene Martin, James Newell, and Luis Ramiro A marriage made in cyberspace? : political marketing and UK party websites / Julian Bowers-Brown Moving towards an evolution in political mediation? : French political parties and the new ICTs / Bruno Villalba Letting the daylight in? : Australian parties use of the WWW at the state and territory level / Rachel Gibson and Stephen Ward The democratising potential of Internet and political parties in Romania / Rodica Mocan, Gabriel Badescu, and Cosmin Marian Democratisation, parties, and the Net : Mexico, model or aberration? / Darren Wallis Online groups and offline parties? : Korean politics and the Internet / Rod Hague and Seung Yong Uhm Extremism on the Net : the extreme right and the value of the Internet / Nigel Copsey. Can The Internet Help To Re-engage The Public In Politics? How Are Political Parties Using The Internet As A Communication Tool? Has Politics Changed In The Information Age? This Book Provides An Assessment Of How Political Parties Are Adapting To The Rise Of New Information And Communication Technologies And What The Consequences Will Be. It Includes Case Studies Of The Us, The Uk, Australia, Korea, Mexico, France, Romania And The Mediterranean Region. Provides an assessment of how political parties are adapting to the rise of new ITCs, and what the consequences of that adaptation will be. Includes case studies of the US, UK, Australia, Korea, Mexico, France, Romania and the Mediterranean region. The task of this opening chapter is to introduce some of the main themes of the book by providing an overview of the current state of the literature and research on parties and the Internet.