Up to now, there has been very little written exclusively on the role of deliberative forums in e-democracy and few attempts to summarize, interpret, and understand international examples of virtual public spheres. This book fills the gap with both theoretical and empirical treatments of the subject.
– Robert A. Cropf, Saint Louis University, USA; and William S. Krummenacher, Saint Louis University, USA
New forms of social media have played a large role in the recent wave of protests across the Middle East and services that were previously not taken seriously in the world of politics, such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, have played a large role. This volume considers the effects of new communication technologies on e-democracy and e-government, and to its credit, doesn't automatically take all the developments as positive. Edited by Cropf (public policy, Saint Louis U.) and Krummenacher (Center for Sustainability, Saint Louis U.), it includes a wide-ranging introduction that attempts to encompass the overall picture. Most of the articles are built upon specific studies, both in the developed world and in countries such as Zambia, Botswana, and India.
– Book News, Reference - Research Book News - August 2011