Abstract

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HOW TO STRENGTHEN DEMOCRACY THROUGH NEW TECHNOLOGIES? A SPECIAL FOCUS ON THE ELECTORAL PROCESS

DALIO, Maribel Amanda


Nowadays are characterized by the great expansion of Information and Communication Technologies. At the same time, there have been different processes of democratization at the global level. The question is, how can policy makers use ICTs to strengthen democracy? In order to answer it, we will base on two assumptions. The first is that we are in a context where fast technological changes may create tools that can be either beneficial or damaging to our democracies. The second assumption is that electoral processes are not only a sine qua non condition for the existence of democracy, but also that the quality of the second depends on the good working of the first. Taking this into account, we will analyze when the technology strengthens the democracy putting a special focus on the electoral process. With this objective, we will present a general theoretical framework about democracy, electoral systems, democratic innovations and Information and Communication Technologies to arrive to a case study.