The Information Society and Democratic Process: Difference between revisions
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
| Line 23: | Line 23: | ||
===Uses of Information Technology in the Political Field=== | ===Uses of Information Technology in the Political Field=== | ||
*A new form of democracy is emerging, a more participatory one | |||
**Information technology makes a big evolution possible, but it is not clear yet whether the results will be good or bad | |||
**People can be part of the process anywhere at anytime | |||
**Some people imagine a seamless democracy with participation on all levels of policy- and decision-making | |||
*Digital Divide: we see a big divide between political representatives and rest of the population | |||
**Two groups of people: | |||
***Those who have the power (political representatives, government) | |||
***Those who do not have the power but who are active in the network (activists, social movements, journalists) | |||
****Kleck's book looks at the influence of this second group | |||
**The main problem is that the digital gap between these two groups of people --elected representatives and citizens-- becomes a ''cultural'' gap. | |||
===Uses of Information Technology Tools in the 2007 French Presidential Campaign=== | ===Uses of Information Technology Tools in the 2007 French Presidential Campaign=== | ||
==Additional Resources== | ==Additional Resources== | ||
Revision as of 11:40, 24 April 2007
The Information Society and Democratic Process: A Take on the French Elections
This page is still in progress --please check back later :)
This lecture was given by Véronique Kleck at the Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies at Harvard University on April 10, 2007, two weeks before the first round of the 2007 French presidential elections.
A podcast of the event is available here.
Véronique Kleck
Some Main Points of the Lecture
Putting the French Elections of 2007 into Context
- In the past five years, the French electorate has faced three main crises that have had an important impact on French society in general:
- The success of Jean-Marie Le Pen in the first turn of the 2002 presidential elections
- Saying "No" to Europe: rejecting the European constitution in the 2005 referendum
- A young population with no future in France, problems with joblessness --exemplified by the riots and widespread civil unrest that took place in late 2005
- 53% of French people believe that their institutional system does not work
- Concerns regarding joblessness
- Uncertainty: the number of people still unsure two weeks before the elections had never been higher
- Traditional media was challenged by online material
Uses of Information Technology in the Political Field
- A new form of democracy is emerging, a more participatory one
- Information technology makes a big evolution possible, but it is not clear yet whether the results will be good or bad
- People can be part of the process anywhere at anytime
- Some people imagine a seamless democracy with participation on all levels of policy- and decision-making
- Digital Divide: we see a big divide between political representatives and rest of the population
- Two groups of people:
- Those who have the power (political representatives, government)
- Those who do not have the power but who are active in the network (activists, social movements, journalists)
- Kleck's book looks at the influence of this second group
- The main problem is that the digital gap between these two groups of people --elected representatives and citizens-- becomes a cultural gap.
- Two groups of people: