Although the relationship between digitalisation and democracy is subject of growing public attention, the nature of this relationship is rarely addressed in a systematic manner. The common understanding is that digital media are the driver of the political change we are facing today. This paper argues against such a causal approach und proposes a co-evolutionary perspective instead. Inspired by Benedict Anderson's "Imagined Communities" and recent research on mediatisation, it introduces the concept of mediated democracy. This concept reflects the simple idea that representative democracy requires technical mediation, and that the rise of modern democracy and of communication media are therefore closely intertwined. Hence, mediated democracy denotes a research perspective, not a type of democracy. It explores the changing interplay of democratic organisation and communication media as a contingent constellation, which could have evolved differently. Specific forms of communication media emerge in tandem with larger societal formations and mutually enable each other. Following this argument, the current constellation reflects a transformation of representative democracy and the spread of digital media. The latter is interpreted as a "training ground" for experimenting with new forms of democratic agency.

中文翻译：

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民主中介–将数字技术与政治机构联系起来

尽管数字化与民主之间的关系越来越受到公众的关注，但这种关系的性质很少以系统的方式解决。普遍的理解是，数字媒体是我们今天面临的政治变革的驱动力。本文反对这种因果方法，并提出了一种共进化的观点。受本尼迪克特·安德森（Benedict Anderson）的“想象的社区”（Imagined Communities）和最近对中介化的研究的启发，它引入了中介民主的概念。这个概念反映了一个简单的思想，即代议制民主需要技术调解，因此现代民主制和传播媒体的兴起紧密地交织在一起。因此，中介民主是研究的观点，而不是民主的类型。它探索了作为一个偶然的星座的民主组织和传播媒体之间不断变化的相互作用，这种演化可能有所不同。特定形式的通信媒体与更大的社会形态齐头并进，并且相互促进。根据这一论点，目前的星座反映了代议制民主的转变和数字媒体的传播。后者被解释为尝试新形式的民主代理的“训练场”。当前的格局反映了代议制民主的转变和数字媒体的传播。后者被解释为尝试新形式的民主代理的“训练场”。当前的格局反映了代议制民主的转变和数字媒体的传播。后者被解释为尝试新形式的民主代理的“训练场”。