Projects

Parliamentary representation in the Internet age: An Anglo-Australian comparison

Aims

The project comparatively evaluates the use of the Internet by parliaments and representatives in the UK and Australia.
Concentrating on two aspects of usage: (a) How far MPs and Assembly Members use the new technologies within parliaments and assemblies to improve scrutiny of the executive; (b) The extent to which they are using new technology to communicate with their constituents and the public in general and whether such usage can widen participation in the political process. The comparative elements of the project is designed to help understand the factors which shape patterns of parliamentary - Internet usage such as institutional history, political rules and access to the technology.
Overall, the research contributes to current debates about the health of representative parliamentary democracy and the role of political representatives in the twenty - first century

Methodology

The project will use five methods:

1. Regular analyses of parliamentary/MPs websites to assess the function of such sites;
2. Postal surveys of parliamentarians to gauge the attitude towards and importance of, Internet communication and online participation;
3. Interviews with MPs and AMs to understand Internet communication strategies, and their associated benefits and problems;
4. Public opinion surveys to evaluate citizen awareness, usage and problems of Internet communication with representatives;
5. Focus group assessment of the design and content of parliamentary websites.

Keywords

Parliamentary, participation, representative democracy, Internet

Publications

Ward, S.J., Lusoli, W. and R.K. Gibson, (2006)'(Re)Connecting Politics? Parliament, the Public and the Internet', Parliamentary Affairs, 59 (1), 2006, pp.24-42.

Ward, S.J. and W. Lusoli, (2005)'From Weird to Wired? MPs, the Internet and Representative Politics in the UK', Journal of Legislative Studies, 11 (1), pp.57-81.

Ward, S.J. and T. Vedel (eds) (2006) 'British Politics and the Internet: The First Decade', Parliamentary Affairs, 59 (2), Special issue [Forthcoming, April].

Chen, P.J., Gibson, R.K., Lusoli,W. and S.J. Ward (2006)'Australian Government Communication Online' in Australian Government Communication, Sally Young (ed) Cambridge University Press, Cambridge [Forthcoming].