Affiliations: [a] Department of Political Science, University of
Copenhagen, Rosenborggade 15, 1130 Copenhagen K., Denmark. E-mail:
jh@ifs.ku.dk | University of Copenhagen, Denmark | Oxford Internet Institute, UK | University of Klagenfurt, Austria | I.S.C.T.E., Lisbon, Portugal
Abstract: This article presents the research questions, research methodology,
and some of the major results of a comparative, survey-based study of the use
of ICT by members of parliament in seven European countries. The overall
research question is whether ICT is an active driver in changing the role of
MPs by strengthening either their delegate or trustee role, or whether we see
the contours of a totally new role for MPs in the "information society". Even
though the data does not permit a full answer to this question, they allow us
to see at least the contours of a new role for the MP in which attention to
information flows and the media comes more to the fore, and where ability to
influence the political agenda through digital means is crucial. Three other
results from the surveys stand out clearly: a) there is a rather clear
North-South divide in Europe concerning both what types of ICT are used by MPs,
and the extent to which they are used. For MPs from the Northern European
countries included in the study ICT has become an indispensable daily tool,
while this is less so in the more southern countries, b) in explaining
differences and similarities in MPs use of ICT across countries, institutional
factors like the organization of work in parliament, and the MPs parliamentary
position seem to be the most important, c) MPs ICT competence and ICT
experience are more important factors in explaining their attitudes towards the
democratic potentials of ICT than more traditional background variables such as
gender, age and party affiliation and size.
