The Virtual Society 207 T ELEDEMOCRACY

8 The Virtual Society 207 T ELEDEMOCRACY

The rapid evolution of information and the new potentials for communica- tion, particularly the unprecedented global telecommunications and information networks explosion, and the trend toward a global social society will have profound impacts on various phenomena such as work, social life, entertainment, education, and democracy (Becker & Slaton, 2000).

Teledemocracy is a generic term that combines the understanding of the way citizens are empowered with the enabling technologies of computer network- ing, and associated hardware, software, services, and techniques (Keskinen, 1995). The major change that teledemocracy has brought to societies is to ensure that political decisions be made in accordance with people’s attitudes and desires. Tele- democracy has the potential of facilitating personal and community evolution by enabling them to build social value structures and to make their own future (Koumirov, 1994).

Teledemocracy has grown due to the demands of three constituencies: (a) citi- zens (or voters), (b) elected leaders, and (c) societal demands for voicing public opinion and communicating with potential leaders vying for political offi ce. First, increased citizens’ or voters’ participation in the information revolution has caused substantial changes to their perception of the role of government. In modern societies, citizens want to shift from being “the governed” into “self-government.” They want to be actively involved in the political work instead of being mere subordinates. They want to have more power, authority, and control over their own lives. Ordinary citi- zens can play a major role in helping to decide what kind of society they want to live in. They can take an active role in sociopolitical decision making in order to make their lives better and to manage their own affairs. They can participate in agenda setting, planning, and policy-making. They ask for the power to be handed back to them. Technology, now, can easily empower them. It promotes a new form of direct citizen participation and direct democracy—teledemocracy.

Citizens can use IT to share information about issues and priorities vital to their future, and be informed about the critical trends and choices facing commu- nities, nations, and the planetary society. IT can provide documentaries and inves- tigative reports that will give citizens an in-depth understanding of the challenges they face. A vibrant civil and democratic society fl ourishes on a well-informed citizenry (Elgin, 1994). The increased number of informed citizens might increase the need for a more conscious direct democracy.

Additionally, citizens also need to know what others think and feel about different issues and priorities. When a population understands what others think about key issues, they can mobilize into a collective interest group with singleness of purpose and action.

Elected leaders are the second constituency contributing to the demand for teledemocracy. Due to availability of electronic means of communication and social

208 Shayo et al.

changes and demands, elected leaders need to realize critical political transfor- mations that may redistribute their political power. They should know that the next generation of citizens is more informed, more knowledgeable, and more enthusiastic. They should understand that citizens can and should take an active role in sociopolitical decision making. Elected leaders need to use IT to commu- nicate with citizens, colleagues, and government agencies. In so doing, they can explicitly persuade, negotiate, listen, and answer questions to meet their stakehold- ers’ desires. One example is the last two U. S. presidential elections in which the presidential candidates established virtual community spaces to solicit fi nancial sup- port as well as recruit and engage supporters.

The successes of online fund raising by John McCain ($6.4 million) and Bill Bradley ($1 million) in the 2000 U. S. presidential elections showed that the Internet is potentially a powerful instrument for organizing grassroots’ activists, rais- ing money, and getting out the vote. In the 2004 presidential campaign, the presi- dential contestants used the Internet with varying degrees of success. Howard Dean led the way by effectively using the Internet to make fundraising appeals, organize local net meetings, blogging, and allowing grassroot activists to make decisions as they saw fi t (Cornfi eld, 2004). By September 2003, Howard Dean, with $25.4 million, was number one in total money raised among the candidates. Although Dean lost to Senator John Kerry in the primaries, political analysts agree that Dean revolutionarized online campaigning (ibid.). Senator Kerry went on to adopt some of the Dean’s fundraising strategies and was able to raise $26 million through the Internet, compared to President George Bush’s $4 million. The various campaign strategies adopted by the candidates during the 2004 presidential campaign are too numerous to cover here. For more literature on the potential power of the Internet to bring political renewal to civil society, see the work of Shane (2004).

Citizens’ wishes can push elected leaders to adopt teledemocracy. Teledemocracy can also improve the relationship between citizens and policy- makers and decrease the gap between the governors and the governed. Citizens can interact electronically with their elected leaders and hold weekly or monthly electronic meetings. These meetings can establish some accountability between the public and their elected leaders. Citizens can also give timely feedback to elected leaders by providing inputs to those who govern. Holding electronic town meet- ings may provide a forum for citizens to build a working consensus on major issues and priorities (Elgin, 1994). Here, elected leaders meet with groups of citizens to explain and/or defend their agendas and policies. These may assure that citizens feel engaged, involved, and invested in decision making and responsible for society and its future.

Societal demands for voicing public opinion and communicating with poten- tial leaders vying for political offi ce is the third factor contributing to the demand for teledemocracy. Governments may need to increase their funding for telecom- munication infrastructures to generate the level and quality of communication