E-Democracy and the Emergence of Civic Life in the Cyberspace

Cairo University Economics and Political Science Faculty Social Science Computing Department

الديمقراطية االلكترونية ونشوء الحياة المدنية فى الفضاء المحكامى

Proposed by “Howieda Nabil Mohamed”

Supervised by

Prof. Dr. Hazem Ahmed Hosni H.E. Dr. Mohamed Abdel Kader Salem Social Science Computing Department The Former Minister of Ministry of Communications and Information Technology

The Thesis is introduced to Social Science Computing Department Economics and Political Science Faculty to have master degree

August 2012

Acknowledgments

This thesis would not have been possible without the help of H.E. Dr. Mohamed Salem and Dr. Hazem Ahmed Hosni.

I would like to offer my deepest gratitude to H.E. Dr. Mohamed Salem for providing me with the opportunity to extend and integrate my theoretical study with real data of the latest technology.

I would like to acknowledge the immeasurable contributions of Dr. Hazem Ahmed Hosni, for his continuous support and encouragement that he provided.

I would like to express sincere thanks to Dr. Ahmed Darwish and Dr. Amal Soliman for their time and efforts they extracted to read and fine tuning the thesis.

I would like to offer my warm gratitude to whole my family who deserve special mention for the numerous hours they spent concerning with my kids while I was studying, searching and writing my ideas.

I would like to express my thanks and gratitude to all those who helped me throughout my studies and contributed in any manner to this thesis.

ii Abstract

The aim of the thesis is to explore the issue of the emergence of civic life in the cyberspace in the light of the fact that with the rapid development of ICT our living space has been transformed from physical space into a space shared by physical space and cyberspace. This new space has the potential to create an accessible arena to more people around the world and to allow them to participate both individually and in groups in meaningful and engaging activities. Such activities can include anything from downloading a song to making an online purchase or to participating positively in the political life.

The thesis analyzes this issue in the theoretical framework of complexity which is related to cyberspace in many aspects: What will the space of communications look like and how could people benefit from the potential role of cyberspace in making debates and communications? Therefore how can that affect e-democracy and civic engagement (social or political)? The complexity is not illustrated only from the analysis of the expected patterns of interaction in the cyberspace in information age but also from the several definitions of e-democracy and the debate about the role of information technology especially the new technologies web 2.0 and social networks in achieving citizen's engagement.

References / Keywords: ICT, internet, e-democracy, social media, Web 2.0 technologies, e-participation, civic engagement, complexity, nonlinearity, Egyptian Revolution 2011, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube.

iii Executive summery

This new space has the potential to create an accessible arena to more people around the world and to allow them to participate both individually and in groups in meaningful and engaging activities. Such activities can include anything from downloading a song to making an online purchase or to participating positively in the political life.

Foucault defined the ‘boat’ as the Heterotopia ‘par excellence’, being a place without a place, a floating piece of space that exists by itself yet is the greatest reserve of the footloose imagination, floating from port to port, tack to tack, in search for the most precious treasures. Cyberspace is a location without the realistic elements of a location, it is indeed a floating piece of space that exists by itself, being defined as www (World Wide Web) and having a life of its own; most important of all cyberspace is in its multiple facets and usage the greatest reserve of imagination. The ‘surfer’ of the Internet travels from one location to the other, visiting one page or site after the other in a travelling irregular exploration, connecting, attaching, in search of ‘precious treasures’, for information, for socialization, sharing, learning, feeling, living.

Since cyberspace is largely independent of physical laws and real-world constraints, we can be more imaginative in our use of spatial metaphors for online worlds. (Stringer, 2006) Through social networks such as Facebook, Twitter and MySpace it has become understood that cyberspace is about socializing and communicating with one another without the constraints of nationality, identity and geographical space limitations of real life. This poses questions about the new identity, new citizenship, new country, new political system and new Sovereignty of the country.

iv The thesis analyzes this issue in the theoretical framework of complexity which is related to cyberspace in many aspects: What will the space of communications look like and how could people benefit from the potential role of cyberspace in making debates and communications and therefore how can that affect e-democracy and civic engagement (social or political).

The complexity is not illustrated only from the analysis of the expected patterns of interaction in the cyberspace in information age but also from the several definitions of e-democracy and the debate about the role of information technology and citizens engagement although that some opinions start from the same basic concept but reaching different points of view about the crucial question: If Internet or information technology will affect citizens engagement or not? What emergent democracy can be expected from the complex interconnections and relations of the whole global world? And how that will affect the local environment?

This thesis is divided into two parts: The first part presents the theoretical framework of complexity as an analytical approach to understand the complexity related to cyberspace and the emergent civic life in the borderless cyberspace from the complex citizens’ interconnections. At the end of the first part is a conclusion reviewing the theory behind e- democracy as well as its types, models, tools, promises, challenges and related terms of e-democracy (e-government - e-governance - e-communities- social networks).

At the end of the second part are conclusions reviewing the role of ICT especially the social networks in shaping democracy in modern societies through the new 2.0 web tools and analyzing the Egyptian Revolution of 25 January 2011 as a case study of the impact of highly interconnected systems in the cyberspace can be expected to generate “non-linear” effects— situations.

v TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE NO. Title Page ...... i Acknowledgments...... ii Abstract ...... iii Executive summery ...... iv Table of Contents ...... vi List of Figures ...... viii List of Tables ...... viii Glossary ...... ix List of Abbreviations ...... x

Chapter 1: Introduction ...... 1

Part 1: Literature Reviews

Chapter 2: Theoretical Framework 2.1 Complexity Sciences Overview ...... 7 2.2 Complexity Theory Origins ...... 9 2.3 Complexity System Features ...... 11 2.4 Complexity Concepts ...... 16

Chapter 3: e-democracy in Literature 3.1 Introduction ...... 32 3.2 History of Democracy...... 34 3.3 Cyberspace & Democracy ...... 38 3.4 Meaning of e-democracy ...... 42 3.5 e-democracy Related concepts such (e-government, e-governance) ...... 51 3.6 e-democracy Goals and Objectives ...... 53 3.7 e-democracy Principles ...... 54 3.8 e-democracy Models ...... 56 3.9 e-democracy & e-participation Initiatives ...... 58

Part 2: The role of ICT in achieving e-democracy Chapter 4: Internet and Democracy 4.1 ICT Evolution ...... 63 4.2 Internet and Democracy Debate ...... 71 4.3 Internet and Democracy SWOT Analysis (Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) ...... 79 4.4 The citizen role in the democratic process ...... 82

vi Chapter 5: E-democracy Case Studies 5.1 Internet as a campaign tool ...... 87 5.1.1 Case Study 1 – The Role of Social Networks in US presidential elections 2008...... 87 5.2 Internet as a mogul for change ...... 90 5.2.1 Case Study 2– The Role of Social Networks in Iranian presidential elections of 2009...... 90 5.2.2 Case Study 3– The Role of Social Networks in Egyptian Revolution January 2011...... 93 5.3 Internet as involving in decision making ...... 100 5.3.1 Case Study 4 – The Role of ICT in Estonia...... 100

Chapter 6: Complexity and E-democracy 6.1 Introduction ...... 103 6.2 Democracy and Web 2.0: The changing shape of democracy today ..... 110 6.3 The emergence of a new political society in Egypt ...... 112

Chapter 7: Conclusions and Recommendations ...………………………………….122

References ………………………………………………………………….………………………127

vii LIST OF FIGURES

FIGURE PAGE No. Figure 1.1 ...... 3 Figure 2.1 ...... 7 Figure 2.2 ...... 10 Figure 2.3 ...... 14 Figure 2.4 ...... 22 Figure 2.5 ...... 23 Figure 2.6 ...... 24 Figure 3.1 ...... 33 Figure 3.2 ...... 46 Figure 3.3 ...... 56 Figure 4.1 ...... 63 Figure 4.2 ...... 66 Figure 4.3 ...... 70 Figure 4.4 ...... 83 Figure 5.1 ...... 88 Figure 5.2 ...... 89 Figure 5.3 ...... 89 Figure 5.4 ...... 95 Figure 5.5 ...... 97 Figure 5.6 ...... 99 Figure 6.1 ...... 112

LIST OF TABLES Table ...... PAGE No.

Table 2.1 ...... 14 Table 3.1 ...... 60 Table 4.1 ...... 77 Table 4.2 ...... 79 Table 4.3 ...... 81 Table 5.1 ...... 93 Table 5.2 ...... 95

viii Glossary

ICTs: ICTs cover internet service provision, telecommunications equipment and services, information technology equipment and services, media and broadcasting, libraries and documentation centers, commercial information providers, network-based information services, and other related information and communication activities.

The public sphere: “A discursive space in which individuals and groups congregate to discuss matters of mutual interest and, where possible, to reach a common judgment.”

Civil society: is the realm of organized social life that is open, voluntary, self- generating, at least partially self-supporting, and autonomous from the state, and bound by a legal order or set of shared rules. It is distinct from ‘society’ in general in that it involves citizens acting collectively in a public sphere to express their interests, passions, preferences, and ideas…to hold state officials accountable.

Complex system: is defined as one in which many independent agents interact with each other in multiple (sometimes infinite) ways. This variety of actors also allows for the "spontaneous self-organization" that sometimes takes place in a system. This self-organization occurs without anyone being in charge or planning the organization. Rather, it is more a result of organisms/agents constantly adapting to each other. The complex systems are also adaptive (i.e., they always adapt in a way that benefits them). As an analogy, Waldrop suggests analogy to the way the human brain adapts to learn from experience.

Techsavvy: Proficient in the use of technology, especially computers

Cyberspace: The word "cyberspace" comes (from cybernetics and space). Cybernetics comes from the Greek meaning to "steer", "navigate" or "govern".

ix Civic life: It is the public life of the citizen concerned with the affairs of the community and nation as distinguished with private or personal life, which is devoted to the pursuit of private and personal interests. This will include the following: - Networking with others who building connected communities - Moderating community discussions of public issues - Moving from community dialogue to action - Organizing community dialogue initiatives

List of Abbreviations

ICT: Information and Communications Technology e-democracy: Electronic Democracy

Chapter 1

Introduction

1 1. Introduction

The main purpose of the thesis is to explore the issue of the emergence of civic life in cyberspace in the light of the fact that with the rapid development of ICT our living space has been transformed from physical space into a space shared by physical space and cyberspace. And accordingly this thesis proposed that there are mutual relations between physical space and cyberspace.

The thesis will try to analyze this issue in the theoretical framework of complexity which related to cyberspace from many sides like: What will the space of communications look like and how could people benefit from the potential role of cyberspace in making debates and communications and therefore how can that affect e-democracy and civic engagement (social or political).

"As our world has become increasingly interconnected through vast communication and information networks, so that what happens in one geographical region may be applied or affected other regions separated by long distances and a huge diversity in cultures, so has complexity science arisen to explore and formulate the nature of interconnectivity and the dynamics of the networks making such interconnectivity possible." (Goldstein, 2008)

According to Heylighen, Francis, Cilliers and Gershenson (2006), complexity is perhaps the most essential characteristic of our present society. As technological advances make production, transport and communication ever more efficient, we interact with ever more people, organizations, systems and objects. "As the issue facing government becomes larger and more complex, new tools (ICTs) are enabling citizens to self-organize more easily". [154]

2 Information and communication technology (ICT) have affected all aspects of life in the world. "They have changed the ways in which we communicate, the way we create and share knowledge, how we organize ourselves, and most importantly ICTs have profoundly affected the speed at which change occurs. Consider the rate at which we create knowledge." (Alcock, 2002)

Information, which is available to all, is transformed into “shared awareness. This leads to units linking up with other units. This in turn leads to emergent behavior isn’t found in the local level of each individual. (See Figure 1.1)

Figure 1.1: Information Leading to Emergent Behavior (Moffat, 2002)

"It is argued that people in democracies cannot exercise their rights without access to information, which enables them to make informed decisions at the ballot box." (Sida, 2009)

ICTs link two important capabilities (Alcock, 2002): - The ability to aggregate and derive information from very large amounts of data - And the ability to link that information to a, many-to-many network, the Internet.

1.1 The study assumptions/ hypotheses: - With the introduction of each major innovation in the history of information and communications technologies (ICTs) there were new hopes and hypes about a change in politics. The same is applicable to the arrival of the internet and its new wave of web 2.0. - There is always debate about this major innovation or idea, debate about the role of internet or ICT, debate about e-government and

3 debate about ICT and improving the democracy by applying ICT technologies. - Technology itself is a driving force of political change

The complexity is not illustrated only from the analysis of the expected patterns of interaction in cyberspace in the information age but also from the several definitions of e-democracy and the debate about the role of information technology in citizens' engagement.

1.2 Study Questions: The study will try to answer the following questions: - Will Internet or information technology affect citizens' engagement or not? - What emergent democracy can be expected from the complex interconnections and relations of the whole global world? - How will that affect the local environment? - What about the emergent pattern of the interconnecting communications throughout the various types of social networks or via the internet cyberspace? - What is the future of this self-organizing or what will be its shape? - What are the digital opportunities to strengthen democracy and participation globally? - Is the internet a catalyst for social or Cultural Revolution? - Will cyberspace change the way society works? - Will it affect the way we interact within society?

1.3 Methodology "The future requires new ways of thinking about and understanding the complex, interconnected and rapidly changing world in which we live and work, and insights arising from the study of complex systems are helping us expand our thinking in new directions." (Sanders, 2003)

The future requires moving beyond the old reductionist paradigm; to look at whole systems; to study the interactions of many interdependent variables and to explore the underlying principles, structure and dynamics of complex physical, biological and social systems. "A linear, mechanistic view of the world based on a reductionist paradigm—breaking problems

4 into component parts—no longer fits the realities of an interconnected, rapidly changing, multi-actor world." (Sanders, 2008) The philosophy of complexity is: "complex systems, such as organisms, societies or the Internet, have properties—emergent properties—that cannot be reduced to the mere properties of their parts. Moreover, the behavior of these systems has aspects that are intrinsically unpredictable and uncontrollable." (Heylighen, 2008)

This thesis is divided into two parts:

The first part: Literature Review

In the second chapter, the theory of complexity and its related concepts are introduced. The first section is written with the purpose of introducing the idea behind complexity and exploring its origin. The rest of chapter one explores the detailed concepts of complexity. In the third chapter, the theory behind e-democracy as well as its definition, types, goals, principles, models and related terms of e- democracy are presented.

The second part: The role of ICT in achieving e-democracy In the fourth chapter, the role of ICT especially social networks in shaping democracy in modern societies through web 2.0 tools is introduced. Internet and Democracy SWOT Analysis, internet and democracy debate and the citizen role in the democratic process are presented. In the fifth chapter, e-democracy case studies are presented. They present three views for the role of internet as a campaign tool or as a mogul for change or as involving in decision making. In the sixth chapter, the impact of highly interconnected systems in the cyberspace can be expected to generate “non-linear” effects—situations. So the relation between ICT especially internet web 2.0 tools, e-democracy and complexity is presented.

A conclusion and recommendations will be given in chapter seven.

Part 2:

Literature Reviews

Chapter 2 Theoretical Framework

6 2. Theoretical Framework 2.1 Complexity Science Overview

"There is no generally accepted definition of complexity." (Heylighen, 2008) "The word “complexity” comes from the Latin complexus, meaning braided or entwined together. Plexus means entwined - from which is derived complexus - meaning braided together, and the English word complex is derived from the Latin". (Moffat, 2002)

"Complexity science is not a single theory. It encompasses more than one theoretical framework and is highly interdisciplinary." (Wikipedia, 2011) "It is actually a collection of ideas, principles and influences from a number of other bodies of knowledge, including chaos theory, cybernetics and complex adaptive systems in the natural sciences, postmodernism in the social sciences, and systems thinking, which is found across all sciences. Complexity is more than system theory." (Harrison, 2006)

Figure 2.1: Scientific and Mathematical Sources of Contemporary Complexity Theory (from WWII to the present). (Goldstein, 2008)

"The roots of the complexity movement are diverse, including: Non-linear dynamics and statistical mechanics which noted that the modeling of more complex systems required new mathematical tools that can deal with

7 randomness and chaos; Computer science, which allowed the simulation of systems too large or too complex to model mathematically; Biological evolution, which explains the appearances of complex forms through the intrinsically unpredictable mechanism of random variation and natural selection." (Geyer, Bogg, 2007)

"Complexity is not a methodology or a set of tools (although it does provide both). It certainly is not a ‘management trend ’. The theories of complexity provide a conceptual framework, a way of thinking, and a way of seeing the world." (Mitleton-Kelly, 2003)

Over the past century, various scientific developments have challenged this simplistic picture, gradually replacing it by one that is complex at the core. First, Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle in quantum mechanics, followed by the notion of chaos in nonlinear dynamics, showed that the world is intrinsically unpredictable. Then, systems theory gave a scientific foundation to the ideas of holism and emergence. Cybernetics, in parallel with postmodern social science, showed that knowledge is intrinsically subjective. Together with the theories of self-organization and biological evolution, they moreover made us aware that regularity or organization is not given, but emerges dynamically out of a tangle of conflicting forces and random fluctuations, a process aptly summarized as ‘order out of chaos’. (Prigogine, Stengers, 1984)

In the 1960s and 1970s, a scattered group of scientists in the US and Europe started to investigate ways to understand and explain disorder and change. The most famous of these was Edward Lorenz, whose ‘butterfly effect’ is still the strongest metaphor for chaos in the public imagination. The butterfly effect demonstrated how small differences at the outset of an experiment – such as a butterfly flapping its wings – could lead to massive differences at a later stage – such as storms raging over New York. (Ramalingam, Jones, Reba and young, 2008)

Complexity theory attempts to explain "how even millions of independent actors can unintentionally demonstrate patterned behavior and properties that, while present in the overall system, are not present in any individual component of that system". [146]

"The science of complexity is based on that new way of thinking that stands in sharp contrast to the philosophy underlying Newtonian science, which is based on reductionism, determinism, and objective knowledge." (Heylighen, Francis, Cilliers and Gershenson, 2006)

2.2 Complexity Theory Origins: Complexity theory has grown out of systems theory and chaos theory in an attempt to demonstrate why the whole is greater than the sum of the parts and how all its components come together to produce patterns as the system learns, evolves and adapts. (Dann, Barclay, 2006)

Ramalingam, Jones, Reba, Young in 2008 argued that system thinking is particularly close in its origins and scope to complexity science. But there are some similarities and differences between complexity and systems approaches. - Systems thinking assume that systems have dominant rules that can be used to calculate potential equilibrium, whereas complexity emphasizes that systems tend to defy calculated equilibrium. - Systems thinking see that systems have some kind of ‘control system’ that provides guidance and shapes the system, whereas complexity recognizes the possibility of self-organization. - Systems thinking suggest that elements in a system can be understood as isolated elements and symbols, whereas complexity forces us to see the interdependence of the nature/meaning of individual elements and the context in which they are embedded. - Systems thinking assume that systems propose rational processes and predictable results, albeit through complicated means, whereas

9 complexity recognizes that solutions are arrived at via dynamic processes those are not likely to result in a final conclusion. - Systems thinking assume that systems change their structures in accordance with rule-based learning, whereas complexity recognizes that change is perpetual (continuous), so learning is a constant factor.

Complexity science is moving us away from a linear, mechanistic view of the world to one based on nonlinear dynamics, evolutionary development and systems thinking. It represents a dramatic new way of looking at things—not merely looking at more things at once. Complexity science provides new concepts, tools and a set of questions that can be very useful to analysts, prediction experts and policy‐makers as they work to identify and respond to the challenges of the twenty‐first century. (Sanders, 1998)

"Complexity phenomena are characterized neither by order—like those studied in Newtonian mechanics and systems science, nor by disorder—like those investigated by statistical mechanics and postmodern social science, but that are situated somewhere in between, in the zone that is commonly called the edge of chaos." (Heylighen, Francis, Cilliers and Gershenson, 2006) "Complexity lies at the edge of chaos (see Figure 2.2) - the phrase edge of chaos was first used by Norman Packard in 1988 - within the fine line that lies between order and chaos. Although this region is thin, it is vast, like the surface of the ocean. The edge of chaos is a transition phase, where life itself is thought to be created and sustained." (Schueler, Schueler, 2001)

Figure 2.2 Complexity science is moving away from a linear to nonlinear dynamics