Abstract

The study evaluated internet portals published by the German Bundestag or the Press and Information Office of the German Federal Government or the Federal Ministries. In addition, interactive dialogue offerings in the form of chats and forums were examined on the basis of content-analytical evaluations. Particular emphasis was placed on examining the quality of the dialogues, because the democratic model of deliberative politics in particular depends heavily on the quality of the dialogues among the participants. The results of the study show that one strength of online dialogue offerings lies in the provision of political information for citizens. Insofar as being informed is the basis of all participation, online communication basically provides opportunities to improve and expand political participation - even outside of online media.

Authors

Wölk, Michaela; Oertel, Britta; Oppermann, Jan; Scheermesser, Mandy