Making a Difference: A Comparative View of the Role of the Internet in Election PoliticsStephen Ward This book is a cross-national analysis of the role of the internet in national electoral campaigns. It covers an array of electoral and party systems throughout the globe from parliamentary to presidential, party-based to candidate-oriented, multi-party to two-party, and stable party system to dynamic party system. It takes a look at three groups of nations with varying levels of Internet access_those where internet usage is common across demographic groups, those where usage has reached significant levels but not widespread penetration, and those where internet access is still limited to a small elite. Each chapter is a study of a particular nation, focusing on its electoral and party systems, the accessibility of the Internet to the population, the nature of candidate/party usage, and the effects of the internet on the conduct of campaigns. By reviewing the findings from these studies, Making a Difference draws conclusions about exactly how the internet influences electoral politics. |
Contents
Chile Promoting the Personal ConnectionThe Internet and Presidential Election Campaigns | 15 |
Australia Potential Unfulfilled? The 2004 Election Online | 35 |
Singapore Elections and the Internet Online Activism and Offline Quiescence | 57 |
Indonesia Electoral Politics and the Internet | 75 |
United States Internet and Elections | 93 |
Canada Party Websites and Online Campaigning During the 2004 and 2006 Federal Elections | 113 |
The United Kingdom Parties and the 2005 Virtual Election Campaign Not Quite Normal? | 133 |
Spain Cyberquake in a Soft Democracy? The Role of the Internet in the 2004 General Elections | 161 |
Belgium Websites as Party Campaign ToolsComparing the 2000 and 2006 Local Election Campaigns | 171 |
The Netherlands Digital Campaigning in the 2002 and 2003 Parliamentary Elections | 197 |
Italy The Evolution of ECampaigning 19962006 | 217 |
Germany Online Campaign Professionalism in the 2002 and 2005 National Elections | 235 |
Conclusion | 257 |
| 271 | |
About the Contributors | 291 |
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Making a Difference: A Comparative View of the Role of the Internet in ... Stephen Ward Limited preview - 2008 |
Common terms and phrases
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