Abstract
The chapter focuses on the democratization potential of online communication for political debate in Western democracy. We discuss the inclusiveness and democratic potential of online communication in two steps: The first section is devoted to the question why online communication has fuelled hopes and how empirical studies cast doubt regarding the democratic potential of the internet. In the second section of the chapter, we propose a new research perspective. It is argued that the internet only in interaction with the traditional media might be effective as a medium of empowerment and inclusiveness. We tackle with the notion of a new hybrid media system and claim that political communication research must focus on this zone of interaction between old and new media in order to better understand and realistically assess the democratic potentials of the Internet.
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