The Cure for the Ills of (e)Democracy is More (e)Democracy - Networked Governance in the Information Society

Information Society Technologies affect eVoting, eParticipation and eGovernance. Collective governance engages public, private and civil domains. Societal decision-making arrangements involve division of responsibilities among them and (layered) governance and implementation in each. Technology changes both ‘optimal’ and actual arrangements – not always in the same direction. The paper discusses these changes and ways to improve their alignment in terms of the issues arising, participation and the role of trust. Analytic phenomena include ‘catastrophic’ changes among multiple equilibria and coevolution of societal norms and network structures. Information Society Technologies have specific effects on performance of voting schemes and participation. Typically there are multiple equilibria – not all are efficient. Lower costs and greater information may affect high-turnout equilibria perversely (reducing turnouts). The availability of public information alters the impact of changes in risk or participation cost. The paper also considers implications for institutional reform and the evolution and dissemination of democratic governance.