Reflections on the challenges of practising digital democratic innovation

Longer description:

Critical discussion of digital innovation in democracy typically points to gaps between aspirations and realities. Despite initial optimism about the transformative potential of new technologies, empirical research evaluating rollout in practice has tended to be much more pessimistic. 

Critical scholars have noted a persistent digital divide that mitigates reach, a perennial expectations gap between enthusiastic top-down rhetoric and meaningful bottom-up influence, and an absence of legal protection for privacy and security concerns. 

This paper explores the space between naïve optimism and cynical pessimism by asking actors engaged in the growing democratic sector to reflect on the value of digital tools in enhancing democracy in practice.