Popular vote as a form of online dialogue between government and society

Abstract

The authors consider the popular vote as a mechanism of convergent movement of power and society in the context of the formation and development of the digital public sphere. The theoretical and methodological basis of communication between government and society is analyzed. The search for modern forms of dialogue between government and society is made in the context of discussions on the use of remote electronic voting (DEG) in the electoral process. The role, opportunities, prospects and risks of online voting in Russian regional and municipal practice are assessed, in particular, in the implementation of the program "Formation of a comfortable urban environment", which is a positive experience of equal and effective interaction between government and society, offers one of the possible directions of public dialogue, the essence of which is the transition from an archaic subject-object models for intersubjective communication. The research is based on a dialectical understanding of socio-cultural processes and phenomena, on general scientific and logical methods of cognition. Statistical, institutional and comparative methods are used. The scientific novelty lies in the study of online voting as an effective form of achieving public consensus within the framework of a specific federal program. It is noted that online voting corresponds to the electoral culture of Russian society, its conventional features. The necessity of broad inclusion of citizens in the discussion and implementation of land improvement programs and other socially significant projects is substantiated. The motives that provide these programs with significant public support are revealed. The data characterizing the quality of the urban environment in the Central Federal District are summarized and analyzed. The conclusion is made about the relationship between the popular vote and the growth of the urban space quality index. The resources of the urban environment quality index and the popular vote are evaluated as conditions for the formation of a healthy competitive field, where the main engine is awareness of the responsibility of the administration and residents of the region for the prestige of their region. Recommendations are formulated on the institutionalization of online voting to solve problems that determine the current regional and municipal agenda.