Promise and Problems of E-Democracy

This book highlights policy lessons in using ICTs to provide information, opportunities for consultation and public participation in policy-making. It includes numerous examples of current practice from 12 OECD member countries (Australia, Canada, Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Slovak Republic, Sweden, UK) as well as the European Commission. It does not deal with online service delivery nor with ICT applications to elections (e.g. e-voting) although some of the issues discussed here, such as providing information online, may be relevant for both. Finally, the book suggests 10 guiding principles for successful online consultation and identifies five key challenges for online citizen engagement in policy-making.