Deliberative Democracy

Meijer, A. J. (2012). The Do It Yourself State. Information Polity: The International Journal Of Government & Democracy In The Information Age, 17(3/4), 303-314. doi: 10.3233/IP-2012-000283

Meijer’s (2012) peer-reviewed, scholarly article examines aspects of electronic democracy. It begins with a discussion of perspectives of democracy and argues that new technologies transform participatory practices. Based on a review of Athenian concepts of democracy, Habermas’ deliberative ideals, and De Tocqueville’s emphasis on citizen agency, Meijer (2012) explains that democracy entails a combination of voting, debating, and practicing. He maintains, “voting, debate, and practice provide different venues for citizen input in public value production and distribution” (Meijer, 2012, p. 307). Indeed, participatory democracy includes an array of practices, existing on a continuum, but “differentiated in terms of the role that government and citizens play in these interactions” (Meijer, 2012, p. 307). New technologies play a crucial role in modern democratic participation by reducing barriers to participation such as time and cost. Moreover, they impact scope and scale of engagement as well as establish new patterns of interactions and robust agencies (Meijer, 2012).

Based on the discussion of literature and characteristics of new technologies, Meijer (2012) proposes three possible future directions for democracy. The first scenario proposes that government will no longer need citizens; the second, that elaborate forms of government-citizen interactions will evolve; and the third, that citizens will not need government anymore (Meijer, 2012). Obviously, they are extremes conceived to illustrate the various points the author intended to make about the benefits and drawbacks of each scenario. Likely, reality will produce a mixture and overlapping of the scenarios. Nevertheless, the article highlights an important point, namely that ideologies from both ends of the extreme (leftwing hippies and conservative Tea Party) favor the “do-it-yourself state” for similar and opposing reasons (Meijer, 2012).

Reviewing potential directions participatory democracy may take, will aid in developing my dissertation topic by creating awareness of the impacts of technological advancements. Moreover, arguments concerning the impact of technological advancements on citizens’ ability to organize and participate represent an integral part of my dissertation topic. Nevertheless, certain assertions put forth in this article appear somewhat controversial. For instance, the arguments of government not needing citizens and citizens not needing government are bewildering.