The Internet and Politics: Citizens, Voters and Activists (Democratization and Autocratization Studies)

This volume includes case studies on the Internet and civil society in the United States, United Kingdom, Northern Ireland, Russia, Ukraine and the Hizbollah organisation. This has emerged from the week-long ECPR joint sessions and therefore has an unusually high level of coherence for an edited volume. This volume explores the nature of the Internet's impact on civil society, addressing the following central questions: is the Internet qualitatively different from the more traditional forms of the media? has the Internet demonstrated real potential to improve civil society through a wider provision of information, an enhancement of communication between government and citizen, or via better state transparency? does the Internet pose a threat to the coherence of civil society as people are encouraged to abandon shared media experiences and pursue narrow interests? in authoritarian states, does the Internet function as a beacon for free speech or as another tool for propaganda? The Authors Analyse 12 Types Of Political Actors Engaged In Elections, Including Candidates, Parties, Organised Groups, Government, Media, And Individual Citizens In 21 National Elections Worldwide In 2004-2005. Introducing The Internet And Elections Project / Nicholas W. Jankowski ... [et Al.] -- The Internet And Elections Project Research Design / Meghan Dougherty & Kirsten A. Foot -- Finland : The European Parliament Election In A Candidate-centered Electoral System / Tom Carlson & Kim Strandberg -- The Netherlands : Party And Candidate Websites During The 2004 European Parliament Election Campaign / Renée Van Os ... [et Al.] -- Slovenian Online Campaigning During The 2004 European Parliament Election : Struggling Between Self-promotion And Mobilization / Tanja Oblak & Katja Željan -- The Consequence Of E-excellence : Partyweb Sites In The Czech Campaign For The 2004 European Parliament / Martin Gregor -- Online Structure For Political Action In The 2004 U.s. Congressional Electoral Web Sphere / Kirsten A. Foot, Steven M. Schneider, & Meghan Dougherty -- Philippines : Poli-clicking As Politicking : Online Campaigning And Civic Action In The 2004 National Election / Kate A. Mirandilla -- The Internet In The 2004 Sri Lankan Elections / Shyam Tekwani & Randolph Kluver -- Addressing Young People Online : The 2004 European Parliament Election Campaign And Political Youthweb Sites / Janelle Ward -- Two Indias : The Role Of The Internet In The 2004 Elections / Shyam Tekwani & Kavitha Shetty -- Web-based Citizen Engagement In The 2004 Australian Federal Election / Pieter Aquilia -- Hungary : Political Strategies And Citizen Tactics In The 2004 European Parliament Elections / Endre Dányi & Anna Galácz -- Internet Deployment In The 2004 Indonesian Presidential Elections / Shahiraa Sahul Hameed -- Roles And Regulations : Boundaries On The Japanese Web Sphere In The 2004 Upper House Election / Leslie M. Tkach-kawasaki -- Web Sphere Analysis For Political Websites : The 2004 National Assembly Election In South Korea / Hyo Kim & Han Woo Park -- Comparing Web Production Practices Across Electoral Web Spheres / Kirsten A. Foot ... [et Al.] -- Epilogue : Reflecting On Elections And The Web / Steven M. Schneider ... [et Al.]. Edited By Randolph Kluver ... [et Al.]. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Book Title......Page 1 Half Title......Page 2 Series Title......Page 3 Title......Page 5 Copyright......Page 6 Contents......Page 7 Figures......Page 8 Tables......Page 9 Contributors......Page 11 1. The Internet, Civil Society and Democracy: A Comparative Prespective......Page 13 2. The Internet and Youth Civic Engagement in the United States......Page 29 3. The Minnesota E-Democracy Project: Mobilising the Mobilised?......Page 46 4. Hunting Protestors: Mobilisation, Participation and Protest Online in the Countryside Alliance......Page 64 5. Design Matters: The Political Efficacy of Government-Run Discussion Boards......Page 84 6. Cybercortical Warfare: Hizbollahs Internet Strategy......Page 102 7. Civil Society, the Internet and Terrorism: Case Studies from Northern Ireland......Page 118 8. Virtual Parties in a Virtual World: The Use of the Internet by Russian Political Parties......Page 133 9. Hard to Connect: Transnational Networks, Non-Governmental Organisations and the Internet in Russia......Page 158 10. Murder, Journalism and the Web: How the Gongadze Case Launched the Internet News Era in Ukraine......Page 176 11. Pathologies of the Virtual Public Sphere......Page 197 Index......Page 211 The Internet, civil society and democracy: a comparative perspective / Sarah Oates and Rachel Gibson The Internet and youth civic engagement in the United States / Diana Owen The Minnesota e-democracy project : mobilising the mobilised? / Jakob Linaa Jensen Hunting online action : mobilisation, participation, and protest in the countryside alliance / Wainer Lusoli and Stephen Ward Design matters : the political efficacy of government-run discussion boards / Scott Wright Cybercortical warfare : the case of hizbollah.org / Maura Conway Society, terrorism, and the Internet : case studies from Northern Ireland / Paul Reilly Virtual parties in a virtual world : the use of the Internet by Russian political parties / Luke March Hard to connect : transnational networks, non-governmental organisations, and the Internet in Russia / Diana Schmidt Murder, journalism, and the Web : how the Gongadze case launched the Internet news era in Ukraine / Natalya Krasnoboka and Holli A. Semetko Pathologies of the virtual public sphere / Heinz Brandenburg. This volume provides a comparative analysis of the use of the World Wide Web in countries around the world for political campaign purposes. Drawing upon a common conceptual framework - the 'Web sphere, ' and a shared methodological approach called Web feature analysis - in order to examine how the Internet is used by a variety of political actors during periods of electoral activity. Research teams around the world conducted analyses in technologically advanced nations, as well as those with low Internet diffusion, and a variety of countries in the middle range of network penetration, and from This volume explores the nature of the Internet's impact on civil society, addressing key questions and drawing on new research.