Virtual Democracy and Models of Political Democracy: Reflections on the Case of the First Conference on Virtual Transparency and Social Control
Luiza Teixeira Escola de Administração de Empresas de São Paulo da Fundação Getúlio Vargas( EAESP‐ FGV) and Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz( UESC) luizareisteixeira @ gmail. com
Abstract: The centrality on the use of Information Technologies( ICTs) in contemporary society has brought a lot of changes in economic, social, political and philosophical dimensions, encouraged mainly by the diffusion of the Internet( PINHO, 2011). In a short period there has been the emergence of a new virtual environment of interconnected communication, with the emergence of a new model of socialization, production and trade, according to Benkler( 2006), radically different from the industrial model. In this paper, it is questioned how the changes brought by the diffusion of Information Technologies( ICTs) are related to democracies. We seek to understand, then, if the use of ICTs provides further democratization, and if the population can take advantage of the information available on the network. We bring to the debate, therefore, the relationship between two very different though complementary themes: democracy and the internet. It is understood that the use of ICT has opened up a wide range of democratic possibilities of action, and has established different forms of interaction between government and society. In Brazil, the 1988 Constitution, known as " Citizen Constitution ", created a favorable environment for the development of experiences related to participation, using the internet as a way of deepening the interactions between society and State. This paper aims, therefore, at analyzing what the potential use of Information Technology in the redefinition of democratic practices. In order to do that, first a brief literature review of the different traditions of democracy political thought is presented, giving special attention to the reflection on the redefinition possibilities of democratic practices, intending to promote cultural pluralization and the recognition of new identities. It also figures among the objectives of this paper to present how literature discusses the use of ICT in democracy. Then we present an analysis of the I Virtual Conference on Transparency and Social Control, using the Cube Model of Democracy, proposed by Fung( 2006), which considers democratic practices in three different dimensions: who the participants are, how communication and decision‐making occurs, how discussions can promote public policies. It is believed that this model can lead to some answers related to the initial questionings, as it directs to a reflection on participation experiences, in particular, and its real impact in relation to legitimacy, fairness and effectiveness of the experience. The analysis using this model is important for understanding the different possibilities and varieties of participation, and, thus, comprehending different compositions related to the impact of the relationship between government and society.
Keywords: virtual democracy, models of political democracy, participation
1. Introduction
The centrality on the use of Information Technologies( ICTs) in contemporary society has brought a considerable number of changes in economic, social, political and philosophical relations. Those changes are encouraged mainly by the diffusion of the Internet( Pinho 2011). In recent years, it is possible to observe a radical change in the organization of the way in which information is produced. Then, it is possible to observe two consequences on the economies of different groups of countries. On one hand, the developed societies advance to an economy based on information, with an emphasis on financial services, software development, science and culture, but on the other hand, the low costs of information and communication technologies enable much of the world population to access these means( Benkler 2006). This leads to the development of a new communication interconnected virtual environment, where there is the emergence of a new model of socialization, production and trade, which is radically different from the industrial model( Benkler 2006).
This paper aims at to portraying how the changes brought by the diffusion of Information Technologies( ICTs) are related to democracies. We try to understand whether the use of ICTs provides further democratization, and if the population is able to absorb the information available on the network. Therefore, the relationship between two very different though complementary themes is brought to debate: Democracy and the Internet. Democracy is a concept originated in classical Greece around the fifth century BC. The scope of the concept of Democracy is quite broad, complex and contradictory. According to Bobbio( 1998), the theory of Democracy converges in three major traditions of political thought: the classical or Aristotelian theory, the medieval theory, with Roman origin, and the modern theory, born in the Modern State.
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