Technological Reinforcements: The Illusion of IT and Strong Democracy

摘要

From the late nineenth century, professional organizations have developed, in part, to manage the problems caused by information overload. Professionalisation has also taken hold of government, which has had a negative influence on political participation. Rather than see information techology as an exacerbation of this trend, some academics believe that information technology can be used to rejuvi-nate political debate and participation. This paper illustrates the problems that information technology must overcome before it can be considered a useful tool in furthering the aims of democratic institutions. In its current form, information technology re-inforces existing institutions, and does not represent the revolution that many portray.