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The Member for Cyberspace: E-Representation and MPs in the UK
Abstract
This chapter offers a framework for considering whether the Internet might be facilitating the evolution of e-representation. The chapter starts by considering the meaning of representation; it then considers what factors influence changes in the concept of representation. We argue that, potentially, the Internet may be facilitating a model of representation based not on the geographic constituency, but upon common interest. The chapter assesses the use of four Internet modalities by UK Members of Parliaments (MPs): websites, e-newsletters, weblogs, and social networking sites. We suggest that there is evidence of parallel e-representation, where MPs use the Internet to enhance their relationship with geographical constituents. We also find the basis for a separate form of e-representation based around the development of an e-constituency of those with shared policy interests. We suggest that by creating a more flexible model, e-representation may add significant nuance to the direct versus representative democracy debate.
... The most recent research from an e-representation perspective found adherence to an e-representation model was limited to detailing their work within the legislature on behalf of their constituency and specific constituents or groups thereof . However studies assessing the use of websites, enewsletters, weblogs and social networking profiles found different platforms potentiate different communication strategies (Jackson & Lilleker, 2011a). The more traditional platforms and tools such as websites and e-newsletters are, on the whole, push communication tools designed to transmit information out to browsers or subscribers. ...
... Regressions showed there were no countryspecific differences. The variables are used in studies for explaining differences among a cohort of elected representatives (see Jackson & Lilleker, 2011a) in order to control for multi-level factors possibly influencing communication strategy (these are especially relevant for comparative studies where regional and country characteristics could be determinant). We additionally conduct an exploratory analysis to determine whether we can explain variations in the number of participants within MEPs' communities. ...
Research into the communication strategies of legislators has a long history. The European Parliament offers an opportunity to add to understanding of how legislators prioritise styles of communication, with a comparative perspective across twenty-seven nations. Through content analysis of online communication we investigate how the Internet is used by MEPs. Our analysis assesses three communication strategies: homestyle, impression management and participatory. We find that a homestyle strategy predominates followed by impression management. Participatory communication is emergent, but may earn legislators political capital as it appears that proactive communicators who offer participatory opportunities are more likely to build an online following
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This article explores the relationship between ICTs and politics. The first part of the article briefly looks back over the literature reconstructing the framework within which this relationship has been located. According to the optimistic approach, ICTs could act as a catalyst in establishing democracy worldwide: great expectations have been nurtured but they have been frustrated by reality. From the pessimistic perspective, this outcome is not surprising as politics in the virtual world reflects politics in the real world. Both approaches share a traditional idea of politics and therefore fail to find any relevant change. But significant changes have occurred, as shown by how citizens have refocused their political attention outside the formal political arena. Social movements, civil associations, single issue groups or even discussion groups can be considered indicators of what has been called ‘life politics’ or ‘sub-politics’. In a nutshell, this new kind of politics crosses the boundaries between politics, cultural values, civil values and identity processes. The picture that emerges gives us a different idea of politics to which ICTs make a significant contribution.
This article explores the effects of new media upon representative democracy. It begins by considering the lessons from studies of the effects of previous communication media, such as television. A survey of British MPs' use of and attitudes towards new media is reported, as is another survey of British citizens' attitudes towards new media and political institutions. The article concludes by suggesting that systemic changes to democratic representation might occur as a result of new media and setting out some principles likely to result in the best use of new media in representative democracies.
This paper considers whether the use of weblogs and social networking sites (SNS) (Web 2.0 applications) by MPs has enhanced the representative process. A content analysis was conducted of MP's weblogs and SNS during May 2008. Two approaches to representation were analysed. First, whether MP's use of Web 2.0 applications was consistent with one of the four models: delegates, trustees, party and constituency. Second, whether the basis for a separate framework of `e-representation' can be said to exist. The data suggest that MP's use of Web 2.0 applications is most likely to be within the party and constituency models, although we also suggest the existence of a possible fifth model, the representation of self. There is limited evidence that a fully functioning model of e-representation currently exists, but the basis exists for such a model to develop in the future. With weblogs this is likely to be based upon a global constituency centred around issues and/or the MP's personality. For SNS it is more likely to be centred on constituency. The legacy of Web 2.0 may be that it empowers MPs to express themselves, and citizens to see MPs as accessible, ordinary people.British Politics (2009) 4, 236-264. doi:10.1057/bp.2009.2
Political parties have been criticised for their limited use of interactivity via their Internet presences, largely it is suggested because they seek to control their online messages. This article will consider interactivity from the perspective of a political party, the Liberal Democrats, using their Freedom Bill online campaign as a case study. We suggest that the Liberal Democrats use ‘weak interactivity’ because of internal policymaking concerns, and their belief that as a political party they are promoting their ideas, not co-creating a new product. Thus we suggest interaction should be closer to a formal consultation than a face-to-face dialogue.
Abstract Social network,sites,(SNSs) are increasingly attracting the attention of academic,and,industry researchers intrigued by their affordances and reach.,This special theme section of the,Journal,of Computer-Mediated,Communicationbrings ,together scholarship on these emergent phenomena.,In this introductory article, we describe features of SNSs and propose a comprehensive definition. We then present one perspective on the history of such sites, discussing key changes and developments. After briefly summarizing existing scholarship concerning SNSs, we discuss the articles,in this special section and conclude with considerations for future,research.
PART I THE CONTEXT OF BRITISH POLITICS - What is Politics? - British Politics Since the War - The Social and Economic Context - Political Culture - Ideology and Politics - PART II INSTITUTIONS AND THE POLITICAL PROCESS - The Changing British Constitution - Britain and the European Union - Prime Minister and Cabinet - Ministers, Departments and the Civil Service - Quasi-Government - Local Government - Parliament - Political Parties - Voting Behaviour and Elections - Pressure Groups - Mass Media - Politics, the Courts and Redress - The Secret State - PART III ISSUES AND POLICIES - The Policy Process - Management of the Economy - Education - Health - Housing - Inequality in Britain - The Unions, Unemployment and Industrial Relations - Ethnic Minority Politics - Women, Inequality and Politics - Politics and the Environment - Northern Ireland - Foreign and Defence Policy - The Politics of Law and Order - PART IV ANALYSING BRITISH POLITICS - Power in Britain - From Thatcher to Major
In virtually every democratic nation in the world, political representation is defined by where citizens live. In the United States, for example, Congressional Districts are drawn every 10 years as lines on a map. Why do democratic governments define political representation this way? Are territorial electoral constituencies commensurate with basic principles of democratic legitimacy? And why might our commitments to these principles lead us to endorse a radical alternative: randomly assigning citizens to permanent, single-member electoral constituencies that each looks like the nation they collectively represent? Using the case of the founding period of the United States as an illustration, and drawing from classic sources in Western political theory, this book describes the conceptual, historical, and normative features of the electoral constituency. As an institution conceptually separate from the casting of votes, the electoral constituency is little studied. Its historical origins are often incorrectly described. And as a normative matter, the constituency is almost completely ignored. Raising these conceptual, historical and normative issues, the argument culminates with a novel thought experiment of imagining how politics might change under randomized, permanent, national electoral constituencies. By focusing on how citizens are formally defined for the purpose of political representation, The Concept of Constituency thus offers a novel approach to the central problems of political representation, democratic legitimacy, and institutional design.
The Internet first played a minor role in the 1992 U.S. Presidential election, and has gradually increased in importance so that it is central to election campaign strategy. However, election campaigners have, until very recently, focused on Web 1.0: Websites and email.
The Scottish Parliament and National Assembly for Wales electoral systems created both constituency and list members. The article discusses hypotheses for exploring their behaviour and notes the particular context of regional party systems dominated to a greater or lesser extent by the Labour party. The authors find that constituency members of the Scottish Parliament and the National Assembly broadly conduct more constituency work than list members, although the extent of list member is still significant for a variety of reasons. The qualitative nature of list member constituency work is not systematically different from that of constituency members. Nevertheless, there are variations in list member approaches. Constituency and list member perceptions of list member work also differ and this has become a serious source of controversy. Relationships between constituency and list members, and between devolved representatives and MPs, are competitive or co-operative, predominantly in relation to partisan interest. In both Scotland and Wales predominantly Labour constituency members have critical views of the roles of list members and have contested the rules governing constituency work. This has been alleviated to some extent by commitments to political pluralism, though more in Scotland than in Wales.
This article presents the research questions, research methodology, and some of the major results of a comparative, survey-based study of the use of ICT by members of parliament in seven European countries. The overall research question is whether ICT is an active driver in changing the role of MPs by strengthening either their delegate or trustee role, or whether we see the contours of a totally new role for MPs in the "information society". Even though the data does not permit a full answer to this question, they allow us to see at least the contours of a new role for the MP in which attention to information flows and the media comes more to the fore, and where ability to influence the political agenda through digital means is crucial. Three other results from the surveys stand out clearly: a) there is a rather clear North-South divide in Europe concerning both what types of ICT are used by MPs, and the extent to which they are used. For MPs from the Northern European countries included in the study ICT has become an indispensable daily tool, while this is less so in the more southern countries, b) in explaining differences and similarities in MPs use of ICT across countries, institutional factors like the organization of work in parliament, and the MPs parliamentary position seem to be the most important, c) MPs ICT competence and ICT experience are more important factors in explaining their attitudes towards the democratic potentials of ICT than more traditional background variables such as gender, age and party affiliation and size.
Using survey data collected from 184 local elected officials, this paper investigates how frequently local political officials use e-mail, and how important they consider e-mail, compared with telephone calls, postal mail, faxes, and meetings. Among all forms of communication, only phone calls are initiated with a similar rate of frequency as e-mail messages. E-mail is rated as important as telephone calls and meetings, and more important than letters and faxes. E-mail is used more heavily by representatives from professional county boards and city councils, but regarded as more important, relative to other communication methods, by members of non-professional city councils. Despite e-mail's limitations, it is a powerful and useful tool for “virtual representatives.”
Westminster MPs have regularly been criticised for their failure to take advantage of the democratic possibilities of the Internet, particularly in light of the continuing problems of engaging public interest in representative institutions. Yet, so far, there have been few studies of their online activities. This article examines the growth and function of UK MPs' websites and how far technology might facilitate changes in their constituency, party and parliament roles. The results indicate a significant growth over the past three years, although those with independent websites are still in a minority. It is also clear that personal factors (notably age), constituency factors, such as electoral marginality and the technological profile of the locality, as well as party factors all help explain patterns of MPs' activity online. For the most part, however, content analysis of sites reveals a rather static and cautious approach to web communication which represents a modernising rather than democratising strategy.
The orthodox view is that neither the election campaign nor the activities of local Members of Parliament (MPs) has any effect on the final outcome of UK general elections. However, more recent research has suggested that both the election campaign and the activity of individual MPs has an effect. This article seeks to ascertain whether MPs believe that the Internet can help them gain votes. Data were collected from a questionnaire and interviews with MPs. The findings suggest that MPs believe that a Web site has an indirect rather than direct impact on voting behavior. However, MPs believe that regular e-newsletters between elections may increase their vote and that the use of private e-mail lists during an election helps mobilize supporters and volunteers.
This paper tests four models of political representation in the UK Parliament: the traditional, party, representative and tribune. Each involves a different usage of the Internet in order to fulfil a particular role. A rational choice approach emphasises the utility of the party model, utilising information and communication technologies to reinforce existing patterns within the political system. An empirical study suggests that the party model is the most applicable to the UK Parliament. Few MPs utilise the Internet in a way consistent with the other three models. If innovative use is to be made of the Internet, it may be at the institutional level rather than at the level of the individual MP.
Purpose
To examine the weblogs written by members of UK legislatures and to determine whether such weblogs address commonly cited criticisms of MPs' web sites and serve to bridge the gap between representative and constituent.
Design/methodology/approach
Examination of the literature on MPs' web sites to draw up a list of common criticisms. Construction of evaluation criteria to analyse the blogs in terms of content, currency, design, interactivity and evidence of personality both as a snapshot and over a longer period.
Findings
That weblogs are, on the whole, kept up to date and show promising levels of activity. Blogs enable constituents to see with what their MPs have been involved (on both the local and the Parliamentary stages) and to see what areas of policy particularly interest their MP. Personality of the MPs is apparent on most of the blogs, which are less party‐oriented than many MPs' web sites. Although the gap between representatives and constituents may have been bridged to an extent, blogging is still largely a top‐down form of communication – even though people do submit relevant and pertinent comments to the blogs, proper two‐way debate is rarely seen and comments are not always acknowledged or answered.
Research limitations/implications
Based on a small number of blogs covering the UK only.
Practical implications
Provides simple evaluation criteria that could be applied to blogs in other areas.
Originality/value
Provides a useful first structured analysis of weblogs written by elected representatives, on which further work can be undertaken once the sample size has increased and existing blogs are more established.
The role of MPs changes over time. Commentators have identified five separate roles that an MP may carry out for which communication with constituents may be a key factor in determining the success of an MP. One of the latest, and currently underdeveloped, forms of direct political communication to constituents is e-newsletters from MPs. This article addresses how MPs are using their e-newsletter to help fulfil each of their parliamentary roles. A content analysis of the e-newsletters of seven MPs sent out regularly over a 1-year period from April 2003 to March 2004 was conducted. The data found that e-newsletters best helped fulfil both the political and non-political aspects of the constituency role. However, the article concludes that e-newsletter communication is primarily one-way, but that if it was two-way it might help MPs in all of their roles.
The article analyses to what extent parliamentarians across Europe are making use of the opportunities for interaction that have become available through new Information and Communication Technologies. The research focuses on four parliaments: the British, the European, the Portuguese and the Swedish. Making use of website surveys, the article gives the proportion of European parliamentarians who have personal websites, as well as an analysis of the functions played by these sites. Additionally, with the help of data gathered from questionnaires and face-to-face interviews, this article investigates attitudes of parliamentarians towards the use of the World Wide Web for political purposes. It is argued that to fully understand the results from this kind of comparative research a number of ‘offline factors’ need to be taken into account. The article thus calls for the necessity of integrating these factors into the growing discipline of Internet studies.
Commentators are divided on the electoral effect of constituency service, whether it provides unfair advantage or has limited electoral impact. The arrival of the Internet has added to this debate. This research note considers how pioneering MPs are using e-newsletters effectively to communicate their constituency service. A web-hosted survey of subscribers to two MPs' e-newsletters, with over 1,100 respondents, was conducted. The data suggest that receiving an MP's e-newsletter did have an effect on subscribers' voting behaviour at the 2005 General Election. Rather than something to fear, this vote-winning capacity of an e-newsletter may actually encourage MPs to have more dialogue between MPs and constituents.
There are in Britain two dimensions of representation: a national dimension which focuses on policy opinions, and a constituency dimension which focuses on redress of grievances. For centuries, the redress of grievances was the only important function performed by members of Parliament. In response to the recent expansion of central government and the rise of the welfare state, this function has been revitalized in the role of the “good constituency member” who represents constituents by making representations on behalf of their individual needs and collective interests. Using interview data on 338 MPs, the following article investigates this role, explores its relationships with behavior, and examines incentives which lead backbenchers to choose constituency service over alternative career paths.
Relations between the public and holders of political authority are in a period of transformative flux. On the one side, new expectations and meanings of citizenship are being entertained and occasionally acted upon. On the other, an inexorable impoverishment of mainstream political communication is taking place. The Internet has the potential to improve public communications and enrich democracy, a project that requires imaginative policy-making. This argument is developed through three stages: first exploring the theoretical foundations for renewing democratic citizenship, then examining practical case studies of e-democracy, and finally, reviewing the limitations of recent policies designed to promote e-democracy and setting out a radical, but practical proposal for an online civic commons: a trusted public space where the dispersed energies, self-articulations and aspirations of citizens can be rehearsed, in public, within a process of ongoing feedback to the various levels and centers of governance: local, national and transnational.
The growth of the constituency role of MPs has been well documented since the 1960s, in particular the focus on casework. There are clear conventions that MPs should represent all their constituents and should not purport to represent other constituencies. Recent research indicates that these rules are under strain with the advent of devolution and the use of IT such as databases, emails and blogs. More generous allowances enable MPs to employ greater numbers of personal staff to process constituency casework. Parties favour this development, as simultaneously assisting with the permanent campaign and removing potential dissent from Parliament. The incumbency effect is now evident, as MPs believe that assiduous attention to constituents can save their seats. Parliaments are under pressure to improve the capacity of their members, but also to avoid inappropriate use of funds to influence the outcome of elections.
MPs have not previously been assigned a major role in electoral campaigning, being considered only one element of a political party's ‘marketing’ tools for winning votes. Evidence now suggests that the relationship between MPs and their constituents is changing. The concept of ‘constituency service’ implies that individual MPs can have a much greater influence on local voters and so possibly buck national trends. At the same time the concept of the ‘permanent campaign’ is transforming political campaigning whereby the political elite needs ever-greater control of the tools used to provide messages to voters. The internet is a potential battleground between MPs who want greater control of their own local campaigning and the party elite who want to ensure a consistent, coherent and controlled message.
The Internet is a new addition to the campaigning armoury, yet the focus so far has been on e-government, e-democracy and election campaigns. By concentrating on how and why MPs use their websites this paper considers whether MPs have fully understood and utilised this new medium.
Key questions include whether their websites are ‘sticky’, interactive and a means of creating a targeted message.
The findings of this detailed study of MPs' websites show that apart from a few pioneers, MPs have not progressed beyond using the Internet as ‘shovelware’ — the vast majority view their website as an electronic brochure and not a new form of two-way communication. Copyright
The internet has created opportunities to restructure communication between MPs and constituents and has led to an increase in opportunity and, in some cases, motivation for MPs to communicate online. This paper reports the findings of a survey of 168 MPs and a subsequent focus group of MPs and parliamentary staff. The research shows that email has become a ubiquitous tool of choice for most MPs and it is clearly perceived as a valuable tool for keeping in touch with constituents. The research describes both the rise of social networking and the reticence of MPs to adopt blogging; which is seen as a negative space and scatter-gun tool. The findings show that, where adopted, digital media can and does change the relationship between MPs and their constituents.
Coleman has suggested that weblogs by encouraging conversations, may be creating direct representation. He suggests that weblogs
provide elected representatives with ‘listening posts’, and offer individual citizens the opportunity of discussing ideas.
Existing research of MP's use of weblogs assumes constituents are their target audience. This research interviewed four blogging
MPs, and analysed 7 MP's weblogs over a three-month period. The data suggests that MP's weblogs are attracting a separate
e-constituency based on interest. This e-constituency competes with the geographic constituency for the time of the blogging
MP.
The Internet has properties that make possible increased interaction between citizens and political leaders. Interviews of campaign staff and analysis of U.S. candidate websites in 1996 and 1998, however, indicate that most political campaigns are resistant to using human-interactive features. I conceptualize interaction, offering that there are two kinds: human interaction and media interaction. More democratizing components of the medium, human interaction, are avoided in favor of media interaction because of the potential for a loss of control and ambiguity of campaign communication.
New media technologies, such as the internet and email, have been seen as providing opportunities to reinvigorate representative democracy and parliamentary institutions. This article examines the use of new technologies by Australian Members of Parliament (MPs). It looks at the growth and function of MPs' websites and assesses how far such technologies might facilitate changes in their electorate, party and parliamentary roles. We analyse what factors persuade MPs to move online and how they then use the technologies. The results indicate that while websites amongst legislators are growing, they are used primarily as supplementary, administrative tools. Overall, technological innovation in the Australian Parliament is still relatively rare and it appears there are systemic barriers that limit the potential of information communication technologies (ICTs) in the representative process.
This study measured and compared the attitudes and perceptions of state legislators toward e-mail on the basis of age and gender. Results showed that although e-mail is thought to be an effective means of communicating politically by legislators, it is not being implemented as a political tool. A comparison based on gender revealed that more male legislators have an active political e-mail account (95%) than female legislators (71%). The survey also revealed a significant difference with respect to the age of legislators and the political use of e-mail.
A liberal state is a representative democracy constrained by the rule of law. Richard Posner argues for a conception of the liberal state based on pragmatic theories of government. He views the actions of elected officials as guided by interests rather than by reason and the decisions of judges by discretion rather than by rules. He emphasizes the institutional and material, rather than moral and deliberative, factors in democratic decision making.
Posner argues that democracy is best viewed as a competition for power by means of regular elections. Citizens should not be expected to play a significant role in making complex public policy regarding, say, taxes or missile defense. The great advantage of democracy is not that it is the rule of the wise or the good but that it enables stability and orderly succession in government and limits the tendency of rulers to enrich or empower themselves to the disadvantage of the public. Posner's theory steers between political theorists' concept of deliberative democracy on the left and economists' public-choice theory on the right. It makes a significant contribution to the theory of democracy--and to the theory of law as well, by showing that the principles that inform Schumpeterian democratic theory also inform the theory and practice of adjudication. The book argues for law and democracy as twin halves of a pragmatic theory of American government.
Table of Contents:
Preface
Introduction: Pragmatic Liberalism and the Plan of the Book
1. Pragmatism: Philosophical versus Everyday
The Pragmatic Mood and the Rise of Philosophical Pragmatism
Orthodox versus Recusant Pragmatism
The Influence of Philosophical Pragmatism on Law Everyday Pragmatism
2. Legal Pragmatism
Some Principles of Pragmatic Adjudication
John Marshall as Pragmatist
The Objections to Legal Pragmatism Recapitulated
3. John Dewey on Democracy and Law
Deweyan Democracy: From Epistemic to Deliberative
Dewey's Concept of Political Democracy Evaluated
Dewey's Theory of Law
The Theory Extended
4. Two Concepts of Democracy
Concept 1 Democracy: Idealistic, Deliberative, Deweyan
Concept 2 Democracy: Elite, Pragmatic, Schumpeterian
American Democracy Today
Democracy and Condescension
5. Democracy Defended
The Two Concepts Evaluated
But Is the Well Poisoned?
Pragmatism and Convergence
An Economic Interpretation of Concept 2 Democracy
A Behavioralist Interpretation
But Is Concept 2 Democracy Legitimate?
6. The Concepts Applied
The Impeachment of President Clinton
The 2000 Election Deadlock
Judges on Democracy
Schumpeter, Antitrust, and the Law of Democracy
Of Human Nature
7. Kelsen versus Hayek: Pragmatism, Economics, and Democracy
Kelsen's Theory of Law
Kelsen, Pragmatism, and Economics
Kelsen Positivism Contrasted with the Positivist Theories of Hart and Easterbrook
Hayek Theory of Adjudication Hayek on Kelsen; Kelsen and Schumpeter
8. Legality and Necessity
Crisis Prevention as Pragmatic Adjudication
Lawyers' Hubris
Clinton v. Jones
9. Pragmatic Adjudication: The Case of Bush v. Gore
The Case
A Potential Crisis Averted
A Pragmatic Donnybrook
The Perils of Formalism
The Democratic Legitimacy of Pragmatic Adjudication Revisited
Coping with Indeterminacy
10. Purposes versus Consequences in First Amendment Analysis
The Pragmatic Approach to Free Speech
The "Purposivist" Critique of the Pragmatic Approach
Conclusion
Index
Reviews of this book:
Posner...presents a brilliant defense of the manner in which Americans organize and operate their government...This book is to be read and reread if one is to understand the intricacies of American constitutional democracy.
--R. J. Steamer, Choice
Judge Posner offers a vigorous and extended contemporary elaboration of Churchill's aphorism that democracy is the worst form of government except for all the others. He surveys much recent literature on the subject, and as might be expected, he does not favor high-minded participatory and deliberative versions of democratic theory. But overall his is a much more robust defense of existing democratic institutions than has been usual in recent work by those who view politics from the perspective of economics and public choice theory. He also expands in an interesting way on the important pragmatic account of adjudication developed in his earlier writings. The book represents a provocative and readable stretch of the authors ongoing reflections on the intellectual scene: the economist/jurist/judge at the breakfast table.
--Thomas Grey, Stanford Law School
This hook is sure to provoke attention to the topic of democratic theory. Among the book's many strengths are the discussions of pragmatism, philosophical and everyday; Dewey on democracy, experimentalism, and distributed intelligence; Schumpeter on democracy; John Marshall's greatness; Kelsen's legal theory and, to a lesser extent because it is a lesser theory, Hayek's legal theory; and the anti-trust theory of judicial decision on the democratic process. These seemingly disparate topics belong together so well that the book sustains reading straight through, as is seldom true of academic works.
--Russell Hardin, Stanford University
Throughout most of the twentieth century, the fundamental British conceptions of how liberal democracy should link citizens to their governments and political representatives have been limited, impoverished and unresponsive to wider patterns of social and political change. Political representation and accountability to citizens have been interpreted in a minimal way, crystallized in the ‘Westminster Model’. This ‘primitive’ conception of the scope of accountability and the meaning of citizens’ representatives has survived intact for virtually the whole century — despite the transformative impacts of two world wars, massive economic and social class changes, and the shift from Fordist and patriarchal social structures to ‘post-modern’ patterns of social life.
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Virtual representatives: Local elected officials online
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Chen, W. (2005). Virtual representatives: Local
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MPs go back to their constituencies. The Political Quarterly
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E-citizens and representation: Beyond the bleeding obvious. Paper presented at the OII Workshop
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Viral politics -Communication in the new era
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