E-democracy and citizen's empowerment: a case study of the city of Madrid

Abstract

One of the main concerns regarding democratic theory is dealing with the fostering of active citizen engagement in the making of public policies. With this in mind, in the year 2003 the local government of the city of Madrid (Spain) designed a broad Citizen's Participation Policy. One of the main elements within this policy was the use of NICT and Internet in order to reinforce citizen's participation and voice. This contribution examines structural democratic issues and how the NICT is used to enhance governance in this large European city. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications for future research and advice for politicians and public officials using e-participation as a strategy for enhancing local democracy and network governance as well as supporting greater citizen involvement in public decision making. This contribution is part of a Research Project on E-DEMOCRACY headed by David Ríos Insua and financed by the Madrid Regional Government under the IV Regional Plan for Scientific Research and Technologic Innovation (PRICIT).