In his dissertation, Dr Marco Wähner examines the “good reasons” citizens have for participating in online consultation processes. The dissertation has now been published as an open-access book by Springer.
Abstract
This open access book examines the interplay between democracy, digitalization and participation and questions how the internet can serve as a platform for political mobilization. Digitalization has opened up new ways of influencing political decisions and promoting citizen participation. By developing an incentive model, the analysis explores what motivates citizens to participate in online consultation processes and whether social differences play a role in this.
Empirical studies based on population surveys show that citizens associate different goals with online participation. Public interest-oriented and negative incentives are decisive factors for (non-)participation. However, the hoped-for broad mobilization remains limited; people without high educational resources in particular benefit less from the time- and location-independent possibilities of online consultation. These results raise important questions about political equality and representation and invite critical discussion.
Wähner, M. (2025). Die „guten Gründe“ politischer Partizipation im Internet: Ein Anreizmodell zur Teilnahme an Online-Konsultationsverfahren. Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-47441-6