presidential campaign clearly illustrated this.
The Internet has provided a wealth of opportunities for candidates and their campaigns to use technology in creative and innovative ways. Even before the days when sophisticated survey research or television advertising burst on the scene, campaigners were seeking ways to campaign more efficiently and effectively. Technology is an ever-evolving aspect of political campaigns in the United States. The picture that emerges gives us a different idea of politics to which ICTs make a significant contribution. In a nutshell, this new kind of politics crosses the boundaries between politics, cultural values, civil values and identity processes. Social movements, civil associations, single issue groups or even discussion groups can be considered indicators of what has been called ‘life politics’ or ‘sub-politics’. But significant changes have occurred, as shown by how citizens have refocused their political attention outside the formal political arena.
Both approaches share a traditional idea of politics and therefore fail to find any relevant change. From the pessimistic perspective, this outcome is not surprising as politics in the virtual world reflects politics in the real world. According to the optimistic approach, ICTs could act as a catalyst in establishing democracy worldwide: great expectations have been nurtured but they have been frustrated by reality. The first part of the article briefly looks back over the literature reconstructing the framework within which this relationship has been located. This article explores the relationship between ICTs and politics.
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