The Internet and European Parliamentary Democracy

Xiudian Dai is senior lecturer in politics of the new media in the Department of Politics and International Studies at the University of Hull. Dai has published widely on the politics of new media technologies, including The Digital Revolution and Governance (Ashgate, 2000) and Corporate Strategy, Public Policy and New Technologies (Pergamon, 1996).

This book investigates the ethical challenges the internet presents to contemporary parliamentary democracy in Europe and how these challenges are being addressed. Key questions asked in this book are: To what extent is the internet being used in parliamentary political communication (the ethics of behaviour)? Should there be any institutional control and monitoring of parliamentarians' use of the internet (the ethics of code of conduct)? What impact does the internet have upon the principle of trust and transparency in the context of parliamentary democracy (the ethics of accountability)?

1. The Internet and Parliamentary Democracy in Europe: An Introduction Xiudian Dai and Philip Norton Case Studies 2. Four Models of Political Representation: British MPs and the Use of ICT Philip Norton 3. Prospects and Concerns of e-Democracy at the European Parliament Xiudian Dai 4. 'Connecting Europe': The Use of 'New' Information and Communication Technologies within European Parliament Standing Committees Jamal Shahin and Christine Neuhold 5. Are ICTs Changing Parliamentary Activity in the Portuguese Parliament? Cristina Leston-Bandeira 6. Becoming Electronic Parliamentarians? ICT Usage in the Swedish Riksdag Magnus Lindh and Lee Miles Comparative Analysis 7. Websites of Parliamentarians across Europe Ma Rosa Vicente-Merino 8. Political Ethics Online: Parliamentarians' Use of Email in Europe Xiudian Dai Conclusion 9. Parliamentary Democracy Online: Lessons from Europe Xiudian Dai and Philip Norton