How parliaments engage with citizens? Online public engagement: a comparative analysis of Parliamentary websites.

This article explores how parliaments in Europe are adopting digital media to promote public engagement with citizens. Drawing on a meta-analysis of previous similar studies and a content analysis of parliamentary websites, the article concludes that parliaments are selective in their public engagement activities, are still mainly using ICT to report parliamentary business, and are timidly embracing the opportunities brought on by ICT to actively engage citizens. Two innovative mechanisms found in the analysis are discussed in detail: cases of online discussion forums and digital debates on social media and cases of crowdsourcing platforms that integrate citizens' views into the law-making process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]