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Recent years have been a fascinating period for the study of online civic engagement. The proliferation of the Internet and continuous innovation around Internet technologies and applications has made mobilizing people for political action both cheaper and more efficient. The growth of “conversational” Web 2.0 technologies has arguably lowered the barriers between the decisionmaking elites and the public. Finally, the availability of data and digitization of public records has made it easier to hold the decisionmakers accountable. Taken together, these developments carry great promise for strengthening democratic practices, particularly those rooted in the deliberative democratic theory. Deliberative democracy is “anchored in conceptions of accountability and discussion” (Chambers, 2003; p.308), both of which can be enhanced through the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs).
Over the past few years, we have witnessed the Internet, and particularly social media, being credited with formation of social movements such as Occupy Wall Street, and with enabling revolutions such as regime change in Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya (for example see discussions of that discourse in Zuckerman, 2011 and Christensen, 2011). The Internet is also credited with redefining the deliberative practices and the power relations between the government and the governed (e.g. Bertot, Jaeger & Grimes, 2010; Effing, van Hillegersberg & Huibers, 2011). These claims are typically broad in scope, casual in nature, and technology-centric. Yet, looking at the end results of numerous initiatives – particularly those aimed at engaging the public in deliberation of specific, complex, and often technocratic policy issues –the evidence on the ground suggests mixed results.
This paper explores the areas of e-participation and online deliberation of complex government policymaking in the U.S. It is based on a multi-year analysis of civic engagement on Regulation Room – an interdisciplinary design-based research project. The paper raises questions about the design of online participation and deliberation mechanisms that enable meaningful and effective civic engagement, and offers recommendations inspired by the theory and practice of democratic deliberation.