Internet som politiskt medel : Hur Web 2.0 kan användas för att bryta trenden av politisk desillusion

Political disenchantment and detachment is proven to be growing in well established democracies. This development brings along concerning behavior regarding general political participation. Fewer citizens participate in elections, parties are losing members, and the trust in politicians is steadily decreasing. IDEA (Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance) has been registering voter turnout worldwide for the last 60 years and their publications show a decline in voter participation since the 1980s. During the same period of time another development has caught attention, namely the fast progress of the medium Internet. The new generation of Internet functions is called Web 2.0 and allows users not only to create content, but also to interact with each other. This dissertation aims to explore the possibilities emerging when integrating Web 2.0 in political processes. To study this, a case study approach is used and participatory budgeting is the chosen case. Effects on political disenchantment are analyzed from the perspective of Robert Dahl’s democratic criteria. The analysis underlines the importance of making political processes more accessible to the citizens, e.g. by supplying online functions for political contribution. Several signs indicate an expanded integration of Web 2.0 functions, which might lead to a turning point for political disenchantment. However, the result also shows that other factors, such as composition of participants, and conditions of usage should to be taken in consideration while increasing the online dependency