Title: Information and democracy: reflections on a complex relationship

Authors: Emilios Christodoulidis

Addresses: Law School, University of Glasgow, UK

Abstract: The article explores the triangular relationship between democracy, information and the law. More specifically it looks at how we might understand the relationship between democracy and information and the way in which the law sustains and informs that relationship. With the help of discourse theory it explores first the congruence of the democracy and information as facilitated through law; then it moves on to re-conceive that relationship as more complex, at times even as antithetical, by contrast the win-win discursive account with situations where the protection of democracy appears to require the curbing of the free flow of information. In order to make sense of the complexity involved it finally takes a step back into the field of methodology and theory construction and to explore barriers in terms of the path-dependency of information.

Keywords: democracy; information flow; discourse theory; censorship; complexity; law.

DOI: 10.1504/IJTPL.2016.077170

International Journal of Technology Policy and Law, 2016 Vol.2 No.2/3/4, pp.95 - 103

Published online: 22 Jun 2016 *

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