This book series examines how and why digital technologies matter for democracy – whether in terms of coordinating social movements, elections, e-government, or digital inclusion. Relevant topics include, but are not limited to, digital democracy, electronic voting, online participation and civic engagement, and electronic campaigning. The series also covers studies on the impact of information technologies on policy issues such as smart cities and the applications of information technologies in a diverse range of areas, such as public health, education, and cybersecurity.
Studies in Digital Politics and Governance (DPG) welcomes monographs and edited volumes from a variety of disciplines and approaches, such as political science, public administration and computational sciences, which are accessible to academics, decision-makers and practitioners working at governmental and non-governmental institutions.
More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/16070
European E-democracy in Practice
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This book had its origins in a research project commissioned and funded by the European Parliament’s Panel for the Future of Science and Technology (STOA). We would like to thank the STOA Panel, the STOA Bureau and the STOA Secretariat for initiating and accompanying the underlying research project.
Our thanks also go to Gianluca Quaglio from the STOA Secretariat and to Bruno Kaufmann and Robert Krimmer for their valuable comments and recommendations.
Finally, we would like to thank Julie Cook for a thorough English language check of the manuscript.
Contents
About the Editors and Authors
is a senior researcher, sociologist and freelance collaborator of the Institute of Technology Assessment (ITA), Austrian Academy of Sciences. He has ample research and teaching experience in social studies of technology and technology assessment, especially on electronic governance, electronic democracy, digital change and the future of work.
is a PhD candidate at the Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development at Utrecht University and is involved in the Horizon2020 project ‘Naturvation’ on the governance and innovation of urban nature-based solutions. Previously, she worked as a researcher at the Rathenau Institute on themes such as urban innovation and smart cities, including digital democracy.
studied political science and government at Aarhus University. He worked as project assistant at the Danish Board of Technology Foundation in 2016. He is currently employed as academic officer at the Danish Agency for Digitisation.
studied communication science with a focus on sociology and social research at the University of Hohenheim (Stuttgart) and at the Aarhus University in Denmark. Kerstin Goos has participated in several European research projects, especially in the field of innovation, responsible research and innovation and public participation. After 6 years as a researcher at the Competence Center Emerging Technologies at the Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research, she is currently responsible for the implementation of EU projects in the field of urban innovation and cross-sectoral collaboration and digitization at the non-profit high-tech business network CyberForum e.V. in Karlsruhe.
has a PhD in sociology. He was project manager at the Office of Technology Assessment at the German Parliament, which is run by the Institute of Technology Assessment, Research Centre Karlsruhe, Germany. He was responsible for projects on genetic testing, technology controversies, sustainable development and research policy, neuro-science and society, E-democracy and others. He participated in several European projects on concepts and methods of technology assessment. Since 2006, he has been coordinator of the European Technology Assessment Group (ETAG; www.itas.fzk.de/etag ). ETAG is set up by a group of European Scientific Institutes active in the field of technology assessments, which carry out TA studies on behalf of the European Parliament.
is since 2009 senior researcher and parliamentary liaison at the Rathenau Instituut. She specializes in digital democracy and evidence-informed politics and has been involved before in projects on converging technologies and human enhancement. Ira studied sociology at the University of Groningen and at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. In her work, she has always focused on the interaction between technology and society. As a liaison for the entire institute, Ira is responsible for ensuring that the work of the Rathenau Institute is plugged at the right time, with the right parliamentarians, at the Dutch House of Representatives and the Senate.
has a PhD in public administration. Since March 2019, she has been working as a senior researcher at the Netherlands Court of Audit. Previously, she has been a researcher at the Rathenau Instituut for four years, specializing in topics such as digital participation, disinformation, science journalism and smart cities. Iris has also worked for the Council for Social Development (Raad voor Maatschappelijke Ontwikkeling) on projects about nudging and journalism. Her PhD research focused on the roles of media and media logic in decision-making in networks. Iris studied cultural studies (BA) and philosophy (BA) at the Erasmus University Rotterdam and gained her master’s degree in research in public administration and organizational science (MSc) at the University of Utrecht.
is a senior researcher at the Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research (ISI) in Karlsruhe and coordinates the institute’s technology assessment activities. He received his degree in political science and economics from the University of Augsburg and completed graduate work at the University of British Columbia (Vancouver) and postgraduate studies at Carleton University (Ottawa). His doctoral dissertation focuses on the application and integration of digital networks in the communication strategies of intermediary organizations. Since more than a decade, he has been working on numerous research projects focusing on the political and societal impacts of ICT. In addition to his research in the area of new media and society, Ralf Lindner has specialized in the analysis of science, technology and innovation policy and governance.
has an MA in philosophy from the University of Copenhagen and is currently a PhD candidate in public administration from the Roskilde School of Governance in collaboration with the DBT, where he serves as a project manager. He specializes in institutional analysis and issues regarding the conditions for policy development and public engagement. He has been involved in the development of the GlobalSay platform for online democratic debate and previously participated in the development of the World Wide Views methodology for ICT-mediated multi-site public deliberation.
is a human ecologist and junior scientist at the Institute of Technology Assessment (ITA) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences. She has contributed to projects on digital tools in the areas of participative and direct democracy, nanotechnology governance, the safe-by-design concept, robotics and the potential of temporary housing as niche innovations.