Affiliations: [a] School of Computing/International Teledemocracy
Centre, Napier University, Edinburgh, EH10 5DT, Scotland, UK. E-mail:
cf.smith@napier.ac.uk | [b] Department of Management & Organization, Faculty
of Management, University of Stirling, Stirling, FK9 4LA, Scotland, UK.
E-mail: c.w.r.webster@stir.ac.uk | University of Copenhagen, Denmark | Oxford Internet Institute, UK | University of Klagenfurt, Austria | I.S.C.T.E., Lisbon, Portugal
Abstract: The creation of the Scottish Parliament in 1999 presented a unique
opportunity to integrate new Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs)
into a new democratic body. The design of the parliament and democratic
practice was informed by the capabilities offered by these new technologies
and, consequently, it is of interest to explore the response of
parliamentarians to this new setting. This article presents research undertaken
into the use of ICTs by Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs), based on
findings from a survey of all MSPs conducted in Spring 2002. Findings are
explored to investigate whether members of the new parliament indicate more
extensive use of ICTs, and express more positive opinions on the democratic
potential of technology, than their counterparts in more established
representative bodies. Further, the Scottish Parliament incorporates a new
electoral system, electing MSPs both directly through constituencies and via
regional party lists. Of interest here is the extent to which there are
differences between these two types of MSPs in terms of their use of and
attitude towards ICTs. In particular, do list MSPs make more use of ICTs and
are they more likely to emphasise their democratic potential, in order to
assert their representative legitimacy in the absence of a traditional
representative relationship with constituents?
