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Parliamentary Affairs Advance Access originally published online on November 6, 2007
Parliamentary Affairs 2008 61(1):216-225; doi:10.1093/pa/gsm049
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© The Author [2007]. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Hansard Society for Parliamentary Government; all rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Convergent Evolution: The Development of Online Engagement in Westminster and Whitehall Through the Use of Online Forums

Ross Ferguson

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Britain has embraced the worldwide web and other digital technologies. This bodes well for the UK's political institutions, which are placing an ever-greater emphasis on innovative methods of citizen engagement, particularly those enabled by information and communication technology (ICT).

This article concentrates on the value of the internet as a means of encouraging political engagement. It has long been appreciated that the internet has the potential to promote political awareness and participation; until recently, however, neither Parliament nor government has devoted many resources to the full development of that potential. Today, both institutions increasingly consider that taking politics online is crucial to combating the real and present danger of political disengagement.

In the short history of politics online, 2006 was a pivotal year. This was when both the UK Parliament and government—independently of one another—began to institutionalise online engagement methods; that is, they sought to make use of web-based software . . . [Full Text of this Article]


   The role of the internet in Westminster and Whitehall
 

   The format of online forums
 

   Defence Select Committee Forum
 

   CLG Forum
 

   Linking up policy-making and parliamentary scrutiny online
 

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