The democratic potentials of information technology: Attitudes of European MPs towards new technology

Abstract

This article looks at the attitudes of European MPs towards the importance of ICT for the future of their democracies. The article draws on data from a comparative survey on MPs' use of ICT carried out in seven European countries in 2001/2002. Four countries are chosen for a comparison on the basis of the diffusion of ICT in the respective countries, as it is imagined that experience with use of ICT is of major importance in explaining attitudes. The countries chosen are Denmark, Norway, Austria and Portugal; countries which are located at different ends of the scale concerning the diffusion and use of both PCs and Internet both among MPs and the populations at large; Denmark and Norway being in the European top 5, Austria in the middle and Portugal at the bottom. The statistical analyses carried out have two main conclusions. Firstly, there is - generally speaking - a very big and homogenous belief in the positive democratic potentials of ICT across the countries. Only on one point; namely concerning the question about whether ICT will enlarge the 'digital divide' do MPs express a certain degree of worry. Secondly, looking at differences within the individual countries it is shown that the degree of involvement with ICT is of greater importance for the evaluation of the democratic potentials of ICT, than other more traditional background factors such as age, gender and party affiliation.