Title: Politically un-interactive web: transformations of online politics in Slovenia

Authors: Tanja Oblak Črnič; Katja Koren Ošljak

Addresses: Department of Media and Communication Studies, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia ' Department of Media and Communications, University of Klagenfurt, Klagenfurt, Austria

Abstract: The present text approaches transformations of political institutions and their communication: first, from the perspective of their online representations and second, from the perspective of their designers and strategists. The paper argues that politicians use online tools and appear in online platforms according to the strategies designed by the very creators of online sites. The text focuses on the Slovene online political platform and its change over time, arguing that the early informational period of political online representations was transformed into a more individualised form of online politics. The strategic approach to online communication is grasped at different levels: it is a question of how the planners (1) perceive the web as a political tool, (2) understand the potential of interactivity and (3) reflect upon obstacles that disable two-way communication between political agents and citizens. A critical evaluation of the crucial obstacles to more interactive online political communication is presented.

Keywords: online politics; interactivity; online campaigns; online political strategies; Slovenia; online politics; online communications; electronic governance; e-governance; electronic democracy; e-democracy; political communication; internet.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEG.2013.053376

International Journal of Electronic Governance, 2013 Vol.6 No.1, pp.37 - 52

Received: 04 Jun 2012
Accepted: 29 Jan 2013

Published online: 19 Apr 2013 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article