Electoral Reform and the Electronic Voting System

Mongolia introduced a new electronic voting system for the first time for the 2012 parliamentary election. E-voting empowers citizens by making voting simpler and providing better opportunities for certain groups of citizens to participate in the election process. The electoral reform was one of the major steps the parliament carried out in order to restore public trust lost in the violent protests against the 2008 parliamentary election results. A free, transparent, and fair electoral system was important to correct the fraud in the old election system. This chapter examines the effectiveness of the mixed system of election, the electronic voting system, the constitutionality of the electoral systems, and other changes to the electoral system in Mongolia.

Chinese Citizenry Social Media Pressures and Public Official Responses

Widespread use of social media in China is a double edged sword: social media offers opportunities for the government to connect with society, gauge the opinion of citizens in the public domain, and allow citizens to voice their anger when necessary by blowing off steam online rather than in the streets. However, social media also allows citizens to access information outside of China much more rapidly and efficiently and to link up and communicate with other citizens much more quickly. Social media allows users to share texts, photos, and files, making it much more difficult for the government to control information and to thwart organizing for political purposes. In some instances, the use of social media has forced the Chinese government to take actions that it otherwise would not have done or to reverse actions or policies already set in place. The goal of this chapter is to illustrate the double-edged sword that social media poses to government officials in China, particularly high-level party officials in Beijing.

In the [Source] C\ode of the Conquerors

The practice of law requires not only an understanding of the law itself (i.e., what the law “says”), but also the ability to conduct proper legal research to formulate cogent legal arguments in support of one's case. For attorneys practicing before state and federal courts in the United States, this is accomplished through the use of legal research databases that catalog and archive nearly all state and federal trial court and appellate court opinions. For attorneys who practice before the 573 federally-recognized Indian tribal courts, this task is far more complex. This chapter discusses the need for a culturally-appropriate legal research database to bridge the digital divide in tribal courts.

The Governed and Their Governments

The relationship between citizens and the state is omnipresent: even the most totalitarian regimes present some interaction between society and ruler. Digital communications have added new instruments through which all, especially the least represented, can make their voices heard. This chapter provides theoretical bases for analyzing how citizens and government interact in the digital age. Dictatorships rely on performance and resort to violence to obtain support. Democratic leaders rely on principle, performance, or elections. Legitimacy by policy efficiency can support despotic governments. Digital communications arise as new channels for governments to promote their views to the people, convincing them of their policies' value; monitor the population's activities in support or against the government; and block information contrary to governmental interests. The people too can use digital interfaces to obtain information, share approval or discontent, and organize protests. Digital communication tools deeply impact the traditional democratic mechanisms to provide regime legitimacy.

Online Resolution and Citizen Empowerment

In the private sector, the growth in interactive, online technology use has already disrupted many private industries, from medicine to finance to entertainment. Interactive, online technology has empowered consumers, giving them more choices and better information, which has in turn transformed global business. Now it is clear that government services are in the process of a similar transformation. Government agencies face unique challenges in implementing interactive, online technology, and understanding best practices can be a challenge. In this chapter, the authors describe their first-hand experience helping government agencies build advanced online dispute resolution systems. They focus in particular on two case studies: transitioning property tax appeals from a paper-based process to an interactive online process and introducing interactive online technology into the courts. Through this examination, they (1) highlight the unique challenges we encountered and (2) make recommendations for government agency decision makers from the lessons we learned.

The First Amendment in the Digital Age

The United States is facing challenges in applying First Amendment principles from the 18th century to modern communications. This chapter examines cases where the government has intruded upon First Amendment rights. The first section examines when the government attempts to prevent protests by cutting internet access. This amounts to a digital gag and ear plugs for the protesters. Aside from cutting access to a single area, some governments have access to total internet “kill switches.” This allows unsurpassed censorship of speech. Now there are technical means installed in most phones that could allow governments to disconnect internet access at the individual phone. In the area of social media, the courts are struggling to identify what constitutes speech. For example, when is a “like” or a “wink” speech? Equally important, when can a political figure censor speech through blocking users on social media? These cases represent warning signs that the United States, just like other countries, is struggling to adapt eighteenth century legal principles to modern communication.

The Mexican Spring

The chapter aims at understanding a recent phenomenon in Mexican politics: the use of internet and social media as a new and powerful resource for mobilization and social participation in the policy process. Based on a review of two relatively recent movements in Mexico (#YoSoy132 and The Wirikuta Defense Front), the chapter argues that although the internet is still restricted to the middle and upper classes, the use of social media and its impact transcends class boundaries, draws public attention, creates a valuable social capital for mobilization, and influences the decision-making process. The chapter does not intend to provide evidence to the theoretical discussion on why and how social media enhances political participation and mobilization; rather, it reflects on the features shared by these two movements in order to draw some lines for further research. It finds that, if used appropriately, social media is actually an effective tool to facilitate mobilization and modify the public agenda.

John Stuart Mill's On Liberty in the Digital Communications Age

On Liberty by J. S. Mill is on democracy, limitations to political power, as well as the shaping of modern democratic systems. This chapter aims to review a classic of political science in light of the current developments in the digital age and thus extract new light on the impact the new digital communication technologies have on the relationship between the state and the citizens around the world. The widespread use of social media and digital communications will have and is having deep and unavoidable impacts on the relationship between the state and citizens. However, such impacts raise both hopes of a better future for democracies and dictatorships as well as concerns of privacy, freedom of speech and thought, consistency of public policy, quality of governmental services, and even the legitimacy and lifetime of regimes. The theoretical tools of classical political science may, however, aid us in better understanding such processes and steering change for the best.