Deliberative Democracy and IT

Jennifer Stromer-Galley, Assistant Professor, Department of Communication, University at Albany, SUNY

Wednesday, May 10, 2006, 8:30 – 9:30 a.m.

Deliberative democracy is a political philosophy that suggests that citizens need to be in dialogue together about critical issues. Since the diffusion of internet access in the United States, there has been an increasing number of opportunities for citizen deliberation online. Several questions have emerged about these online discussions. Some scholars are very concerned that people who participate in these online forums self-select into issue publics where like-minded people gather together to discuss their shared concerns. Other scholars are concerned that the quality of the discussion is very low, with a high volume of personal attack and irrational arguments.

The diffusion of blogs has only heightened these questions. This presentation will identify these concerns, and offer some answers based on four years of research conducted by Stromer-Galley. Interviews with citizens who use online discussion forums suggest that they enjoy talking with diverse others and seeing alternative perspectives on political matters. Content analysis of online discussion suggests that the quality of the discussion is higher on political topics than on other topics, such as entertainment or cancer support, and that personal attack is not omni-present in online discussions. Overall, Stromer-Galley concludes that forums for online political discussion, although not perfect, help move democracy in the United Stated closer to ideals established in deliberative democratic theory.

Jennifer Stromer-Galley is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication at the University at Albany, SUNY. Her research includes the political uses of and experiences with communication technology, mediated political campaign communication, electronic voting, and deliberative democracy. She is also webmistress for the League of Women Voters of Albany County. Academic publications can be found in the Journal of Communication, Javnost/The Public, PS: Political Science and Politics, and Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication.