The Interplay Between Digital and Political Divides

The Case of e-Petitioning in Taiwan

Bibliographic Data

ID12170654
AuthorsChung-Pin Lee (Tamkang University, New Taipei City, Taiwan), Chung‐pin Lee (Tamkang University, corresponding author), Don‐yun Chen (0000-0003-4896-1524, National Chengchi University), Don-Yun Chen (National Chengchi University, Taipei, Taiwan), Tong‐yi Huang (0000-0001-5388-5584, National Chengchi University), Tong-yi Huang (National Chengchi University, Taipei, Taiwan)
Year2013
Volume32
Issue1
Pages37-55
Publication date2013-08-19
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueSocial Science Computer Review (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0894-4393 • E-ISSN: 1552-8286
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/0894439313497470
OpenAlexW2050307417
LanguageEN
Citations received13
References cited22

Political scientists have long been aware of the problem of unequal participation in democratic politics, the phenomenon we can call “political divide.” The emergence of information and communication technologies over recent years has sparked a discussion on whether this long-standing political divide can now be resolved by “e-democracy.” This study aims to answer two questions: (i) Can e-democracy, specifically e-petitions, attract traditional nonparticipants to participate in public affairs? (ii) In the context of promoting e-petitions, can “digital divide” alleviate the problem of “political divide?” The data used in this study were collected from a national poll on citizen experience of and willingness to participate in the petitioning for referendum. The results indicate that those who recall participating in paper petitions tended to be older, less educated, and with stronger party identification. Also, our results reveal that these people who can be effectively mobilized by traditional social networks are mostly, in fact, the “digital have-nots.” Furthermore, regarding the potential participants in e-petitions, we find that those “digital haves,” who had not been mobilized in previous paper-based petition sessions, were more likely to participate in e-petitions if they are implemented in the future. The results demonstrate the existence of a possible negative correlation between the political and the digital divide. This suggests that e-democracy might be potentially beneficial to alleviate the long worried negative effects of the political divide in democratic polity

Context (archaeology · Democracy · Digital divide · Information and Communications Technology · Political communication · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Polity · Public relations · Referendum · Social media · Sociology · Electoral Systems and Political Participation · Law · Public Administration · Social Capital and Networks · Social Media and Politics

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