Democracy's double-edged sword : how Internet use changes citizens' views of their government / Catie Snow Bailard.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Bailard, Catie Snow, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Political participation--Technological innovations.

Political participation.

Decision making--Citizen participation--Technological innovations.

Decision making.

Public administration--Citizen participation--Technological innovations.

Public administration.

Public administration--Public opinion.

Internet--Political aspects.

Internet.

Digital media--Political aspects.

Digital media.

Democracy.

Democratization.

Comparative government.

Public administration--Citizen participation.

Technological innovations.

Decision making--Citizen participation.

Physical Description:

x, 162 pages ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Baltimore, Maryland : Johns Hopkins University Press, 2014.

Summary:

"As digital media becomes more omnipresent in our lives, it becomes ever more important for political scientists and communication scholars to understand its influence on all aspects of the political process--from campaigning to governance. Catie Snow Bailard seeks to determine the Internet's influence on citizens' evaluations of their governments' performance, particularly whether the Internet influences their satisfaction regarding the quality of democratic practices available in their nation. While it is clearly important to understand how the Internet can streamline political organization once people are moved to action, the discipline has afforded less attention to whether the Internet influences citizens at this more foundational, antecedent stage of political action. Bailard originates two theories for democratization specialists to consider: mirror-holding and window-opening. Mirror-holding explores how accessing the Internet allows citizens to see a more detailed and nuanced view of their own government's performance, dirty laundry and all. Window-opening, on the other hand, enables those same citizens to see how other governments' perform in general, particularly in comparison to their own. The author offers a theory of the impact of Internet use on evaluations of government, as well as tests of that theory at the country and individual levels based on survey data collected in 73 countries and two field experiments conducted in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Tanzania"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

1 Why the Effect of Internet Use on Political Evaluations Matters 1

2 A Theory of Mirrors and Windows Online 21

3 Potential Limitations of Mirror-Holding and Window-Opening 53

4 Determining the Effect of Internet Use on Democratic (Dis)Satisfaction: The Country Level 66

5 Determining the Effect of Internet Use on Democratic (Dis)Satisfaction: The Individual Level 82

6 At the Internet Cafe: A Test for Democratic Satisfaction in Bosnia and Herzegovina 97

7 At the Internet Café: A Test for Effects in the Tanzanian Election 113

8 Both Sides Now: Democratic Reflections and Illusions 124.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781421415253

1421415259

OCLC:

879584081

Online:

Cover image