ABSTRACT

This article explores how parliaments in Europe are adopting digital media to promote public engagement with citizens. Drawing on a meta-analysis of previous similar studies and a content analysis of parliamentary websites, the article concludes that parliaments are selective in their public engagement activities, are still mainly using ICT to report parliamentary business, and are timidly embracing the opportunities brought on by ICT to actively engage citizens. Two innovative mechanisms found in the analysis are discussed in detail: cases of online discussion forums and digital debates on social media and cases of crowdsourcing platforms that integrate citizens’ views into the law-making process.

摘要

本文探讨了欧洲议会如何采用数字媒体来促进公众与公民的互动。借鉴以往类似研究的元分析和议会网站的内容分析，文章得出结论，议会在其公众参与活动中是有选择性的，仍然主要使用 ICT 来报告议会事务，并且怯懦地拥抱由 ICT 带来的机会。使公民积极参与的信息通信技术。详细讨论了分析中发现的两个创新机制：在线讨论论坛和社交媒体数字辩论的案例，以及将公民意见纳入立法过程的众包平台案例。