Abstract

Some e-participation projects have been funded and promoted by governments; others have been initiated by grass-roots activitists and communities. What is the relationship between such projects and the distribution of political power? Top-down/governmental e-participation can be accused of allowing the public to have their say in ways that are subsequently ignored, about issues that have already been decided upon. Bottom-up/grass roots initiatives can be criticised as virtual talking shops which are isolated from the structures of decision-making. What scope is there for e-enabled co-governance?

Bio

BA hons and PhD from London University. Formerly Director of the Hansard e-democracy programme, which pioneered online consultations for the UK Parliament, and lecturer in Media & Communication at the London School of Economics and Political Science. Chaired the Independent Commission on Alternative Voting Methods.

Recent publications include ; Bowling Together (with John Gotze), Hansard Society, 2001; Realising Democracy Online: A Civic Commons in Cyberspace(with Jay G. Blumler), IPPR, 2001; 2001: A Cyber Space Oddysey: the Internet in the UK Election, Hansard Society, 2001; Televised Election Debates: International Perspectives, Macmillan 2000; Parliament in the Age of the Internet (edited with J. Taylor and W. van de Donk) OUP, 1999.

At the OII, Professor Coleman will be working on the adaptation of representative institutions in the digital age; the development of spaces for public democratic deliberation; and a global evaluation of a range of e-democracy exercises.

Stephen Coleman on E-Enabled Co-Governance

Abstract

Bio

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