Mediated Democracy
August 24, 2005, Danish Architecture Center, Strandgade 27B, DK-1401 Copenhagen
Participation is free. Registration is required no later than August 15, aykj@hum.ku.dk
Return to conference programme
Abstract
Lars Torpe: Local political publics: Does the net add something new?
Based on experiences from three Danish municipalities - Hals, Odder and Sollerod - the paper looks into how the use of the internet as a means of political communication influences the structure and role of local political publics. Concerning structure, the paper will briefly sketch how the use of the internet influences the supply of channels of political communication both with regard to political information and political participation. Concerning the role of local political publics, the paper will focus on three main themes: 1) Who are present and not present, as participants and as audience, in net-mediated local political deliberation, 2) What is discussed in these fora, 3) What are the effects of these deliberations on the making and implementation of local policies and on local public opinion-shaping?
About the speaker
Lars Torpe, Associate Professor, Dept. of Economics, Politics and Public Administration, Aalborg University.
Recent publications include: “Social Capital in Denmark. A deviant case?” Scandinavian Political Studies, nr. 1, 2003. “Digital communication between citizens and local authorities in Denmark.” Local Government Studies no. 2, 2004 (with Jeppe Nielsen). “Demokrati på nettet. Offentlighed, deltagelse og digital kommunikation”. Aalborg Universitetsforlag (with Jeppe Nielsen and Jens Ulrich) (in press).
Research areas: Democracy, political participation, including e-participation, voluntary associations and social capital.
Associate Professor Lars Torpe