Affiliations: [a] Department of Public Administration, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands | [b] Center for Public Innovation, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands | [c] CvanO, Technology and Innovation Policy Analysis, Paris, France
Correspondence:
[*]
Corresponding author: Arthur Edwards, Department of Public Administration, Erasmus University Rotterdam, P.O. Box 1738, Room T17-34, 3000 DR Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Tel.: +31 10 4081816; Fax. +31 10 4089099; E-mail:edwards@fsw.eur.nl
Abstract: This paper investigates the monitoring of
parliamentarians by independent parliamentary monitoring organizations
(PMOs). Three parliamentary monitoring websites (PMWs) in Germany, the
United Kingdom, and France are compared regarding their contribution to
strengthening democracy. An information ecology perspective reveals the
interrelationships between the national institutional context, the
democratic values pursued by the initiators, and website design. Two types
of PMWs can be distinguished. One type focuses on enabling citizens to
discharge their monitorial role, whereas the other type combines this focus
with an explicit reformist stance. PMWs seem to have positive effects on
various aspects of transparency and accountability. However, a better
understanding is needed about what these websites entail for the quality of
parliamentary work.
