1st Edition

The Internet and National Elections A Comparative Study of Web Campaigning

    296 Pages
    by Routledge

    304 Pages 2 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    The Internet and National Elections provides a comparative analysis of the use of the World Wide Web in countries around the world for campaign purposes.

    This ambitious study draws 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 a variety of political and cultural contexts. The book represents an important contribution towards gaining a cross-national understanding of the current and emerging impacts of the Internet on political practice. To that end, the contributors to this book collect and analyze data related to the structure for political action and information provision. They examine twelve types of political actors engaged in elections, including candidates, parties, non-governmental organizations, government, media and individual citizens.

    Exploring the complex dynamics between politics, culture, and information technology at both the national and global levels, this text will be of interest to students and researchers of political science, communication studies, international relations, media and Internet studies.

    Section 1: Conceptualizing and Designing the Project  1. Introducing the Internet and Elections Project  2. The Internet and Elections Project Research Design  Section 2: Political Actors as Web Producers  3. Finland: The European Parliament Election in a Candidate-Centered Electoral System  4. The Netherlands: Party and Candidate Web Sites during the 2004 European Parliament Election Campaign  5. Slovenian Online Campaigning during the 2004 European Parliament Election: Struggling Between Self-promotion and Mobilization  6. The Consequence of e-Excellence: Party Web Sites in the Czech Campaign for the 2004 European Parliament  7. Online Structure for Political Action in the 2004 U.S. Congressional Electoral Web Sphere Section 3: Reaching Diverse Constituencies Via the Web  8. Philippines: Poli-Clicking as Politicking. Online Campaigning and Civic Action in the 2004 National Election   9. The Internet in the 2004 Sri Lankan Elections   10. Addressing Young People Online: The 2004 European Parliament Election Campaign and Political Youth Web Sites 11. Two Indias: The Role of the Internet in the 2004 National Elections  Section 4: Political Culture and the Diffusion of Technologies  12. Web-based Citizen Engagement in the 2004 Australian Federal Election  13. Hungary: Political Strategies and Citizen Tactics in the 2004 European Parliament Elections  14. Internet Deployment in the 2004 Indonesian Presidential Elections  15. Roles and Regulations: Boundaries on the Japanese Web Sphere in the 2004 Upper House Election  16. Web Sphere Analysis for Political Web Sites: The 2004 National Assembly Election in South Korea  Section 5: Comparisons and Conclusions  17. Comparing Web Production Practices across Electoral Web Spheres  18. Project Conclusions and Proposals for Continued Research

    Biography

    Randolph Kluver, Nicholas Jankowski, Kirsten Foot, Steven M. Schneider