From Online Voting to Protest Mobilization: How the Internet is Transforming Political Participation

Abstract

This article is devoted to the study of the influence of Internet technologies and social media on the forms of political participation of modern citizens. The author notes that the Internet contributes more to the politicization of citizens, providing them with new opportunities for communication, obtaining and producing political information and committing collective actions. The author believes that under the influence of the Internet, political participation is transformed in two directions: 1. there is a technological modernization of instrumental and procedural forms of participation; 2. new forms of political participation are emerging.

Keywords

• political participation
• internet
• social media
• internet voting
• protest