Suchergebnisse

The article discusses the skeptical view that on-line forms of politial participation have thus far had only little importance for democracy. Based on an analysis of the interplay between the supply of, and the demands for, e-tools for political informaiton and deliberation at the local level in Denmark, it is concluded that the skeptical view is con- firmed to some extent; however, It is also shown that something more - as well as something new - is added to the local political public, both in terms of the citizens involved and the topics discussed. Further- more, the case study indicates that online deliberations have had a number of minor effects on local political opinionformation and deci- sion-making. Thus, the overall conclusion is that a local forum of digital deliberations has the potential to form an alternative channel for raising issues and forming a vehicle for involving more citizens in politics, including citizens with weak resources.

In recent years, many have voiced doubts about whether participation in associations still has the same meaning for democracy. These doubts are related to new observations of changes in the relations between individuals and associations. The author confronts these observations with new empirical findings on the relation between members and organizations, including data on the development of membership and activity in Denmark, on the relationship between associational involvement and civic engagement, and on the members' assessment of their influence in organizations. The empirical findings both support and modify the rather pessimistic views on the democratic role of associations. In the final section, the findings are related to consideration of changes in the membership role, particularly among youth, which may signal a looser and more flexible relationship between individuals and associations in the future.

If social capital is important for democratic governance, then it is important how social capital develops. In this article the development of social capital in Denmark is studied on four dimensions: civic norms, social trust, civic involvement and social networks. In contrast to Robert Putnam's findings for the US, no evidence is found of a general weakening of social capital in Denmark. The findings are surprising, because Denmark faces some of the same tendencies that according to Putnam lie behind the decline of social capital in the US. The last section therefore discusses various institutional aspects that may help explain the difference. It is argued that the welfare state facilitates the production of social capital, partly by supporting civil society infrastructure, partly by the very structure of its institutions.