"Gentlemen, all aboard!" ICT and party politics: Reflections from a Mass-eParticipation experience

Abstract

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) use is becoming an ever more popular way to involve citizens in political decision making. And yet, despite their recently increasing number, feweParticipation initiatives have achieved their intended aims. Ifnothing else, this shows that the internal processes, challenges and opportunities ofusing ICT to engage citizens in politics deserve further examination. The present paper attempts to undertake such an investigation by analysing Italy's Five Star Movement, a mass-eParticipation-based political organisation recently founded by private citizens. Using an interpretive case-study approach, this paper assesses the goals, participation, technology use, internal governance, external consequences, and challenges endemic toemploying ICT in citizen engagement, to answer the following question: what consequences, challenges and opportunities does mass-eParticipation present to organisational stakeholders? Results ofthe study bring to light several addi- tional research questions whose answers will surely advance the current discourse on eParticipation, and they also provide practical guidance and direction for those launching eParticipation initiatives.