Increased democratic participation thanks to digitalisation?

How can the digital transformation enhance democracy? To answer this question, a team led by Marc Bühlmann (Année Politique Suisse, University of Bern) developed and tested two online participation prototypes. Firstly, 1,000 eligible voters from the Swiss town of Köniz developed a smartvote questionnaire for the local elections. Secondly, another 1,000 people discussed and recorded a set of arguments for and against the Federal Climate and Innovation Act online. Both processes took place on the specially developed platform ‘Demokratiefabrik‘ (Democracy Factory), which defines itself as digital democratic innovation (DDI) and is designed to give the public a greater say in political processes.

The key findings

Both case studies show that digital participation appears to work. Participants engaged seriously and in a variety of ways. Almost 80% of the participating citizens from Köniz reported that they would take part in this form of digital participation again without hesitation. The researchers put this positive response down to the highly respectful interaction on the platform. They say that this has created a safe space in which eligible voters can exchange ideas and discuss issues freely – in part thanks to the fact that it is anonymous. The research team writes:

A particularly striking finding was that people with a low level of trust in politicians were especially active on the platform – suggesting that digital formats can give a voice to disillusioned citizens. However, the Demokratiefabrik failed to eliminate existing participation inequalities (e.g. lower participation of older women). Also, one of the case studies did not manage to motivate the different political camps to participate equally.

Relevance to policy and practice

Well-designed digital participation formats could serve as a meaningful addition to traditional forms of political participation. They promote motivation, dialogue and legitimacy – provided that the platforms guarantee respect and diversity. For policy and practice, this means that digital participation should be seen as an extension of democratic processes. It should not replace analogue processes, but harness the potential for a broader and less polarised debate.

Three main messages

1. Positive perception of digital democratic innovations:
   Digital democratic innovations such as the Demokratiefabrik enjoy broad public support. Both the process itself and the results achieved were greatly appreciated. Interest in participation is high, those invited to take part are actively involved, and the process as a whole is seen as fair, and the results as legitimate.

2. Helping to overcome social divisions:
   The research points to a major advantage of digital democratic innovations, such as the Demokratiefabrik: helping to bridge social divides and reduce polarisation. After taking part in the Demokratiefabrik, participants rated their fellow citizens with different opinions (in relation to climate protection measures) less negatively than those from the control group who did not take part in the Demokratiefabrik.

3. Mixed findings on inclusion:
   In terms of participation patterns, the findings are mixed. On the one hand, the same participation inequalities emerge as can be seen in conventional forms of political participation (e.g. lower participation of older women). On the other, the findings indicate that digital democratic innovation may be a way to involve disillusioned citizens.

To find out what role artificial avatars played in the two digital participation format prototypes, and for specific details on the participants (age, sex, political leaning, etc.), take a look at this in-depth news article on the research project: