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Two Models of E-Democracy: A Case Study of Government Online Engagement with the Community

E-democracy and social media are the basis of a new way of engagement between government and the wider community. Rather than being an online form of existing relationships, social media offers government the capacity to connect with and share ideas with the electorate. This is more powerful than focus groups and polls, and more accessible than forums and meetings. Social media provides a revolutionary way for elected representatives to assure themselves that their policies and programmes reflect the actual needs of the community. However, the introduction of this new mode of technology challenges the notion of centralized policy-setting, and the doctrine of centre-periphery implementation of programmes. It requires a paradigm shift in thinking and acting on the part of political actors and their public servants.