Democracy's Double-Edged Sword

How Internet Use Changes Citizens' Views of Their Government

Catie Snow Bailard

• Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press
• Year: 2014
• eBook ISBN: 9781421415260
• Edition: 0
• Topic: Politics & International Relations
• Subtopic: Computer Science General
• Index: Politics & International Relations

The Internet has a clear, consistent, and considerable influence on democratic satisfaction.

Winner of the APSA Best Book in Information Technology and Politics of the American Political Science Association

The beauty of democracy is not only that citizens can vote a candidate into office but that they can also vote one out. As digital media grows omnipresent, it becomes more important for political scientists and communication scholars to understand its influence on all aspects of the political process, from campaigning to governance. Catie Snow Bailard argues that the Internet—by altering the quantity and range of information available to citizens—directly influences the ability of individuals to evaluate government performance. It also affects public satisfaction with the quality of available democratic practices and helps motivate political activity and organization.

Bailard originates two theories for democratization specialists to consider—mirror-holding and window-opening—which she tests using data collected from dozens of countries and two randomized field experiments. Mirror-holding explores how accessing the Internet allows citizens to see a more detailed and nuanced view of their own government's performance. Window-opening, however, enables those same citizens to glimpse how other governments perform, particularly in comparison to their own.

Although the book offers a robust empirical foundation for testing the Internet's effects on democratic attitudes, Bailard ultimately concludes that access to information does not necessarily ensure that democracy will automatically flourish.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Acknowledgments
• 1. Why the Effect of Internet Use on Political Evaluations Matters
• 2. A Theory of Mirrors and Windows Online
• 3. Potential Limitations of Mirror-Holding and Window-Opening
• 4. Determining the Effect of Internet Use on Democratic (Dis)Satisfaction: The Country Level
• 5. Determining the Effect of Internet Use on Democratic (Dis)Satisfaction: The Individual Level
• 6. At the Internet Café: A Test for Democratic Satisfaction in Bosnia and Herzegovina
• 7. At the Internet Café: A Test for Effects in the Tanzanian Election
• 8. Both Sides Now: Democratic Reflections and Illusions
• Notes
• Works Cited
• Index