CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2025
| Author | Miezejeski, Macklin |
|---|---|
| Title | Bridging Digital Politics and Local Action: The Role of Civic Tech in Political Participation |
| Summary | Civic space enclosure has defined the shrinking role of citizen participation in political life. Early optimism of social media as a political tool has not been met and instead can be deteriorating. Civic tech has presented itself as a possible alternative. Research on the technology has typically focused on its design and usage without measuring its impact on policy and decision-making. This thesis explores the role of Decidim, a platform in Barcelona, as a tool for residents to become involved in local politics. Quantitative measures of proposals and their implementation reveal the opportunities available for participation as well as the challenges that go beyond a digital tool. Both measures of engagement and political salience were used to reveal these tensions. How civic tech can escape the prescriptions of connective action is shown through user engagement. However, complexity arises during proposal implementation, which demonstrates the limitations of civic tech. The results highlight how citizens can leverage digital tools for their benefit and provide directions for future research to further explore the power structures within civic spaces. |
| Supervisor | Ashraf, Cameran |
| Department | Public Policy MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2025/miezejeski_macklin.pdf |
Visit the CEU Library.
© 2007-2025, Central European University