Online participation in democratic processes: the case of the Green Party, Germany

Abstract

Much of the research in the online participation area focuses on citizen participation or social movements, while the internal processes of political parties have so far been neglected. We will address this gap, focusing on the introduction of online participation methods for internal democratic decision-making processes in the Green Party Germany. Use of technology in a democratic process makes higher demands off organisation, since exclusion can delegitimize the outcome. Specifically, we investigate the launch of two new processes: a regular grass-roots survey that feeds into the policy development process, and an online verification process for members’ submission and support of proposals to the party assembly. These processes both support and challenge the strong grass-roots mentality of the party: access is maximised, while participation costs for certain groups may increase. We will discuss the expectations and conflicts related to the introduction of these new online process. In particular we will address the expected risks and opportunities of facilitating online participation, including the potential for changing or reinforcing the current experience of participation, and the risk of perpetuating biases relating to online access. The analysis is based on preliminary data, in particular observations and interviews with selected members.

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Identifiers

ORCID for Gefion Thuermer: orcid.org/0000-0001-7345-0000

ORCID for Silke Roth: orcid.org/0000-0002-8760-0505

ORCID for Kieron O'Hara: orcid.org/0000-0002-9051-4456

ORCID for Steffen Staab: orcid.org/0000-0002-0780-4154

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