Eigenverlag/Self

Abstract:
The paper is a first step to assess the status of e-participation within the political system in Austria.It takes a top-down perspective focusing on the policy framework related to citizens’ rights in thedigital environment, the role of public participation and public policies on e-participation in Austria.The analysis of the development of e-participation in Austria as well as of social and politicaltrends regarding civic participation in general and its electronic embedding, show a remarkable recentincrease of e-participation projects and related initiatives. The paper identifies main institutionalactors actively dealing with or promoting e-participation and reviews government initiatives as wellas relevant policy documents specifically addressing and relating to e-participation or e-democracy.Finally, it takes a look at the state of the evaluation of e-participation. A major conclusion is thate-participation has become a subject of public policies in Austria; however, the recent upswing ofsupportive initiatives for public participation and e-participation goes together with ambivalent attitudesamong politicians and administration towards e-participation.