Title: Political parties and web 2.0 tools: A shift in power or a new digital Bandwagon?

Authors: Paschalia-Lia Spyridou, Andreas Veglis

Addresses: Media Informatics Lab, Department of Journalism & Mass Communication, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54006, Thessaloniki, Greece. ' Media Informatics Lab, Department of Journalism & Mass Communication, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54006, Thessaloniki, Greece

Abstract: Since the emergence of the e-democracy project putting emphasis on participation, most analyses focused on the opportunity for political parties to reverse top-down and propaganda-style models and engage in conversation with citizens. Despite the objections posed by the normalisation thesis, the opportunities offered by web 2.0 for feeding vox populi into the political process and letting the |wisdom of crowds| speak are undeniably growing. The study investigates the main communication functions performed by Greek parties online and the level and type of interactivity provided. The findings suggest the development of a hybrid web 1.5 model, while participation ranks low in the agenda of most political parties.

Keywords: web 2.0 tools; interactivity; digital campaigning; political parties; politics; Greece; e-democracy; electronic democracy; communications; e-participation; electronic participation; online participation; political campaigning.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEG.2011.041712

International Journal of Electronic Governance, 2011 Vol.4 No.1/2, pp.136 - 155

Published online: 30 Jul 2011 *

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