Making a Difference A Comparative View of the Role of the Internet in Election Politics

by Davis, Richard; Owen, Diana; Taras, David; Ward, Stephen; Owen, Diana; Davis, Richard; Boas, Taylor; McAllister, Ian; Gibson, Rachel; Kluver, Randolph; Hill, David T.; Small, Tamara A.; Danchuk, David; Lusoli, Wainer; Dader, Jose-Luis; Hooghe, Marc; Visse

• ISBN13: 9780739121016
• ISBN10: 0739121014
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2008-03-13
• Publisher: Lexington Books

Summary

This book is a cross-national analysis of the role of the internet in national electoral campaigns. It covers an array of electoral and party systems throughout the globe from parliamentary to presidential, party-based to candidate-oriented, multi-party to two-party, and stable party system to dynamic party system. It takes a look at three groups of nations with varying levels of Internet access_those where internet usage is common across demographic groups, those where usage has reached significant levels but not widespread penetration, and those where internet access is still limited to a small elite. Each chapter is a study of a particular nation, focusing on its electoral and party systems, the accessibility of the Internet to the population, the nature of candidate/party usage, and the effects of the internet on the conduct of campaigns. By reviewing the findings from these studies, Making a Difference draws conclusions about exactly how the internet influences electoral politics.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. ix
Introduction	p. 1
Chile: Promoting the Personal Connection-The Internet and Presidential Election Campaigns	p. 15
Australia: Potential Unfulfilled? The 2004 Election Online	p. 35
Singapore: Elections and the Internet-Online Activism and Offline Quiescence	p. 57
Indonesia: Electoral Politics and the Internet	p. 75
United States: Internet and Elections	p. 93
Canada: Party Websites and Online Campaigning During the 2004 and 2006 Federal Elections	p. 113
The United Kingdom: Parties and the 2005 Virtual Election Campaign-Not Quite Normal?	p. 133
Spain: Cyberquake in a Soft Democracy? The Role of the Internet in the 2004 General Elections	p. 161
Belgium: Websites as Party Campaign Tools-Comparing the 2000 and 2006 Local Election Campaigns	p. 171
Netherlands: Digital Campaigning in the 2002 and 2003 Parliamentary Elections	p. 197
Italy: The Evolution of E-campaigning 1996-2006	p. 217
Germany: Online Campaign Professionalism in the 2002 and 2005 National Elections	p. 235
Conclusion	p. 257
Bibliography	p. 271
Contributors	p. 291
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