Explaining eDemocracy development: a quantitative empirical study

The term eDemocracy refers to the usage of information and communication technology in the democratic process. This usage can vary in form and extent. This paper distinguishes three types of explanations for this variation: explanations based on the suggestion of objective rationalisation, explanations based on political evaluation and discretion and explanations based on the assumption that technology itself is a driving force of institutional change. Taking the case of eDemocracy development in Dutch municipalities, these three types of explanation are subjected to an empirical test. A quantitative analysis leads to the conclusion that the perspective of technology as driving force behind eDemocracy finds most support, and that the rationalisation perspective has some merits as well. There is no evidence, however, that differential political traditions play any significant role in the development of local eDemocracy in the Netherlands.