Digital technologies and democracy: Assessing the Latin American experience

Abstract

The talk will present my own research focused on how new Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) have affected politics and society in Latin America. Specifically, it will examine if and in how far the spread and use of digital technologies affected central aims of democratic governance such as strengthening citizen participation in political decision making; increasing the transparency of legislative processes; improving administrative processes; providing free access to government data and information; and expanding independent spaces of citizen communication. While these aspects have been extensively studied in the United States and Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) context, their systematic analysis in the regions of the Global South and more concretely in Latin America remains an academic task ahead. However, while it was largely assumed that in catching up on the digital divide developing nations would simply emulate practices and structures of the Global North, the analyses to be presented seeks to demonstrate that Latin American citizens and governments have come up with innovative digital solutions to the particular political problems related to the region's historical legacy. Summarizing, this presentation seeks to assess in how far digital technologies in Latin America either contributed to or obstructed: - government accountability and transparency, - civil society's ability to fulfill socio-political watchdog's functions, such as scrutinising the efficiency and effectiveness of public services and holding politicians accountable - citizen participation in political decision making - the creation alternative mobilization structures for political participation.