Parliaments 2.0? Digital Media Use by National Parliaments in the EU

Abstract

How do national parliaments use the Internet and digital media tools? Despite a number of studies on the online presence of individual representatives, this question has rarely been asked of parliaments themselves, and comparative analyses are practically nonexistent. This is not only puzzling in an empirical sense, but also from the normative perspective of democratic theory. Parliaments as institutions can potentially serve as an important neutral information provider for citizens, especially those disenchanted by the competitive side of party politics. Digital and social media can play a strategic role in enhancing communication between citizens and the institutions of representative democracy from livestreaming parliamentary debates, to answering citizens’ questions via email, to humanizing decision-making processes and decision-makers through Facebook posts and photos. Given that these tools are universally available to national parliaments in the European Union, are they actually being used? We find significant variation between member states: the United Kingdom leads in its multidimensional digital and social media strategy, using all tools at its disposal. The parliaments of Western Europe and the Baltic states are active, but to a lesser extent as observed in the United Kingdom. Eastern and Southern Europe are least engaged with citizens online, with Malta, Slovenia, and Croatia bringing up the rear. We briefly discuss explanatory factors for this variation, and avenues for further research.