Enabling the Digital Democratic Revival: A Research Program for Digital Democracy

TL;DR

This paper proposes a comprehensive research program to develop digital democracy technologies that support participatory renewal in societies through interdisciplinary, empirical, and computational methods.

Contribution

It outlines a long-term scientific vision and research agenda for advancing digital democracy technology in a democratically principled and empirically informed manner.

Findings

Identifies the need for multi-methods research in digital democracy

Highlights interdisciplinary collaboration for technological development

Proposes a long-term research framework for digital democracy

Abstract

This white paper outlines a long-term scientific vision for the development of digital-democracy technology. We contend that if digital democracy is to meet the ambition of enabling a participatory renewal in our societies, then a comprehensive multi-methods research effort is required that could, over the years, support its development in a democratically principled, empirically and computationally informed way. The paper is co-authored by an international and interdisciplinary team of researchers and arose from the Lorentz Center Workshop on ``Algorithmic Technology for Democracy'' (Leiden, October 2022).