Public participation, a process involving citizen or stakeholder engagement in decision-making, has gained increasing emphasis in recent years. Interestingly, the emergence of the concepts of “e-governance”, “e-government” and “e-democracy” reflects the increasing connection of online tools such as the Internet with the concept of public participation (Freeman, 2013). Does governmental regulation of the Internet necessarily not promote public participation then? I think not; to my mind, there are two different kinds of regulation – “positive” and “negative” regulation, implemented with the purpose of promoting and restricting participation respectively. Whether these regulations indeed do promote or restrict effective public participation (which is to be determined by the impact of public participation on business, government and society) still remain to be seen.
Positive internet regulation commonly come in the form of online public participation platforms; one example is the U.S. Federal government website “regulations.gov”, a portal allowing the public to participate in the rulemaking processes of some Federal government agencies. Such regulation purports to provide increased access to governmental information, greater platforms to facilitate public dialogue, reduced cost of participation and improved ease of organizing support or opposition to decisions; thereby empowering both the individual and groups within the society and promotes greater public participation (Leighninger, 2011). Yet it has been said that the theory of public participation does not accord with its practice and may not be truly useful in its application (Noveck, 2004-2005). The highly divergent nature of comments in terms of quality and quantity makes it ...
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...ed regimes: The impact of the internet on authoritarian rule. (1st ed., p. 3). Washington D.C.: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Retrieved from http://www.monoskop.org/images/f/f5/Kalathil_Shanthi_Boas_Taylor_C_Open_Networks_Closed_Regimes_The_Impact_of_the_Internet_on_Authoritarian_Rule.pdf
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The author is this article is Kalev Leetaru, he is known as an American internet entrepreneur and academic. He is also a contributor to Foreign Policy, where he discusses current political events worldwide. He was appointed adjunct assistant professor at Georgetown university which is ranked #6 internationally and is an extremely well respected university in Washington DC.
With an entity as vast as the Internet, it is not surprising that a variety of unanswered questions will arise. I’m positive that the Internet will continue to confound scholars as it continues to quickly evolve. By analyzing the views of the celebrants and skeptics, I have been able to understand the potential that the internet has. By using the PEC, I have been able to understand how democracy and capitalism relate to the issues of the Internet. In the future, I hope that society can develop a further understanding of the Internet and move toward the Internet that the celebrants had hoped for.
The public sphere has been falsely represented as a virtual place where one can share and debate opinions; ...
China is one of the strictest countries when it comes to dealing with foreign multinational corporations. Any international company willing to set up shop in China must comply with the strict laws of doing business in the country. More often than not, international companies doing business in China face a lot of obstacles due to differences in values they stand for. For instance, Google. Inc. China is a classic example of a multinational corporation that has struggled to conduct successful business in China.
Gorman, Siobhan. "China Singled Out for Cyberspying." The Wall Street Journal 4 Nov. 2011. Print. (Source E)
Thornton, P., (ed.) (2010), ‘Censorship and Surveillance in Chinese Cyberspace: Beyond the Great Firewall’ In Gries, P. H., and Rosen, S., (eds) Chinese Politics (London and New York: Routledge).
Safranek, Rita. 2012. The Emerging Role of Social Media in Political and Regime Change. s.l. : Proquest, 2012.
The internet has been one of the most influential technological advancements of the twenty-first century. It is in millions of homes, schools, and workplaces. The internet offers not only a way of communicating with people around the world, but also a link to information, shopping, chatting, searching, and maps. This freedom to be anyone and to "go" anywhere right from the comfort of home has become a cherished item. However, there is always a down side to every up. Because of the freedom to post anything and access anything on the internet, the issue of regulation has arisen; for example, what should and should not be allowed on the internet? Who has the right to regulate this space that we cherish for its freedom?
Many public research on citizen participation confirm that participation leads to more participation even when citizens become doubtful about government. Citizen participation within an association, as part of a group, or in a community is likely to result in an embellish sense of efficiency, which will in turn, encourages further citizen participation. Most predominant systems of government, citizens are allowed to participate only by voting once in several years. This in one way or the other separate politicians from their electors. Lack of ability and corrupt politicians are not rare and vital decisions are made behind the scenes from the knowledge of most citizens. In developed and developing countries citizen’s participation by introducing citizens' rights to initiate laws, to call referenda and to be consulted on (local and minor) decisions has gone some small way to compensate for these deficits of "representative" democracy. The ideal that all members of a community or country should be able to participate in reaching common decisions has often been dismissed as impractical, especially where large populations are concerned and also for other reasons. It is practically impossible to conceive a town meeting for a town like Moscow or even for Accra. However, in this modern world with modern technologies it is possible for all citizens to inform and educate themselves about public issues and to vote or decide on them electronically. However, one vital problem of this assessment is that most people are technology illiterate and therefore finds it difficult use such technology. In this era of modern Information and Communication Technology (Internet), access to information has vastly increased as well as the speed and volume of communication. The Internet and the World Wide Web contain much political information and
Wei-Wei Zhang. (2004). The Implications of the Rise of China. Foresight, Vol. 6 Iss: 4, P. 223 – 226.
In today’s world, the media almost dominates society. No matter a station’s political affiliation or the conglomerates’ beliefs, a vast variety of topics are covered almost daily. Whether it’s breaking news, feature stories, or heart-warming cartoons, the audience is almost certain to tune into any news station and learn about what is going on in the world, and e-democracy falls under that category. When it comes to anything that concerns the government, there is going to be media coverage, especially if it involves scandal or court cases. Stories vary in importance and depth, but overall they give us insight into certain topics. CNN’s Dan Caterinicchia offered the people a look at what E-Democracy is and how a man from Minnesota lobbied to make e-democracy easier by using an e-mailing list as well as an online public forum. According to Caterinicchia (1999), Minnesota e-democracy Chairman, Steven Clift, believes that such a practice would make E-Democracy an...
Inkenberry, John. “The Rise of China and the Future of the West.” Foreign Affairs. The Council of Foreign Relations. Jan 2008. Web. 9 Mar 2014.
Most of the Internet regulation is imposed by the Government in an effort to protect the best interest of the general public and is concerned with some form of censorship.
James S. O’Rourke IV, Brynn Harris, Allison Ogilvy: Google in China: government censorship and corporate reputation Journal of Business Strategy Vol. 28 NO. 2 2007
Internet has been acknowledged as one of the most efficient way to collect and reflect public opinions, for that people with different classes and races can express their opinions with no obstacles in virtual network spaces. People can speak out whatever they want just by typing on the keyboard within a second. Dr. Heather Savigny mentions in her article “Public Opinion, Political Communication and the Internet” that “The expansion of the internet as a new method of communication provides a potential challenge to the primacy of the traditional media and political parties as formers of public opinion” (1). People realized that the power of internet public opinion in the focus on social issues can be used as a weapon to affect government decision-makings. However, does public opinion only brings positive effects?