| By: |
Aichholzer, Georg;
Allhutter, Doris |
| Abstract: |
The paper is a first step to assess the status of e-participation within the
political system in Austria. It takes a top-down perspective focusing on the
policy framework related to citizens’ rights in the digital environment, the
role of public participation and public policies on e-participation in
Austria. The analysis of the development of e-participation in Austria as well
as of social and political trends regarding civic participation in general and
its electronic embedding, show a remarkable recent increase of e-participation
projects and related initiatives. The paper identifies main institutional
actors actively dealing with or promoting e-participation and reviews
government initiatives as well as relevant policy documents specifically
addressing and relating to e-participation or e-democracy. Finally, it takes a
look at the state of the evaluation of e-participation. A major conclusion is
that e-participation has become a subject of public policies in Austria;
however, the recent upswing of supportive initiatives for public participation
and e-participation goes together with ambivalent attitudes among politicians
and administration towards e-participation. |
| Keywords: |
e-participation, e-democracy, citizens’ rights, institutional actors, public policies, government initiatives, evaluation |
| Date: |
2009–02–15 |
| URL: |
http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ita:itaman:09_01&r=ict |