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Digital Politics in India: Technology Driven Politics Or Politically Driven Technology?

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Digital Politics in India: Technology Driven Politics Or Politically Driven Technology? International Journal of Advanced Research in Engineering and Technology (IJARET) Volume 11, Issue 4, April 2020, pp.515-525, Article ID: IJARET_11_04_050 Available online at http://iaeme.com/Home/issue/IJARET?Volume=11&Issue=4 ISSN Print: 0976-6480 and ISSN Online: 0976-6499 DOI: 10.34218/IJARET.11.4.2020.05 0 © IAEME Publication Scopus Indexed DIGITAL POLITICS IN INDIA: TECHNOLOGY DRIVEN POLITICS OR POLITICALLY DRIVEN TECHNOLOGY? Ankur Protim Mahanta Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science Don Bosco College, Golaghat, Assam, India ABSTRACT Objectives: An attempt has been made in the paper to analyze how emerging technologies have influenced people's political behavior, how technology and politics are intrinsically interrelated, and the possible consequences of their interrelation. This paper also tries to evaluate the role of technology on the electroral politics of India and what type of role technology is going to play in the forthcoming days. Furthermore, it illuminates how technology is used by the different political parties, political leaders, to maximize their political end and influence outcomes. Research Methods/ Data Analysis: To discover all those questions, the study used experimental, hi storical, descriptive and analytical m ethods and c ollected dat a from governmental and non-governmental reports. All data have been collected from Pew Research Center, Center for Strategic and International Studies, Social Science Research Council, Fobes and Carnegie India. Bar diagrams have been used for data analysis. Internet sources have also been used to update the empirical data and for the overall enrichment of studies. Findings: After analyzing the data from various sources and surveys, it can be opined that technology has both positive and negative effects in the Indian political system. The use of various technology, social media and startup companies in electoral politics has changed the traditional features of Indian politics. After reviewing the opinions of social media users, it can be said that technology and politics are both sides of the same coin. Despite various shortcomings, in the contemporary era, the interrelation between politics and technology has become important to enjoy better political freedom. Novelty/Applications: The study provides an experimental analysis of both the positive and negative aspects of the interrelationship between politics and technology. In this digital age, study will give people the right path by which they can choose the right way for their development. Key words: Technology, Politics, Digitalization, Social media, Political behaviour, Electoral politics http://iaeme.com/Home/journal/IJARET 515 [email protected] Digital Politics in India: Technology Driven Politics or Politically Driven Technology? Cite this Article: Ankur Protim Mahanta, Digital Politics in India: Technology Driven Politics or Politically Driven Technology? International Journal of Advanced Research in Engineering and Technology, 11(04), 2020, pp.515-525 http://iaeme.com/Home/issue/IJARET?Volume=11&Issue=4 1. INTRODUCTION Technological innovations are having an incomprehensible impact on our social, political and economic life, including access to information, building social movements, catalysing political movements and the way we interact. It has become ubiquitous to say that science and technology play a pivotal role in our society. These scientific and technological artefacts are building blocks in our way of life. Our modern lives are loaded with technologies. Although it’s consequences are remarkable in scale and importance, but its political ramifications are disputed, and its long term effects are unknown. Technology is often acknowledged as a weapon for economic growth, the impetus of c ultural creativity, the necessary tools of government and the cornerstone of security. Technologies have changed the way people live, work, and play. However, this is not a new phenomenon as technology has changed civilization in many ways throughout history. Over the past years, we had an important part of technological progress in society that revolves around all aspects of society. History has been witness to the Industrial Revolution which has been going on for centuries. The first revolution started with the power of steam proved that manpower is not the only way to progress; Human efforts were reduced by joining machines and muscles. The second industrial revolution brought the world closer with electric power. The leap in technology led t o new w ays of life a nd t he gl obal economy. T hen t he c omputer c hanged everything. Information technology and electronics led to the third industrial revolution, work space became smarter, technology became personal and communication went mobile. The fourth industrial revolution is bringing together the physical and digital worlds in industries to create a mutually global value chain. Powerful technology, incredible connectivity and unlimited information are available at our fingertips. Business leaders around the world are gearing up to be part of this ecosystem. No matter when or where they were made, or who made them, all technologies have political implications as technologies shape our society in international and contingent ways. The way we obtain pol itical i nformation has l ong been a n i mportant par t of t he pr ocess of democracy. Communication through news media, from friends or colleagues, or from politicians themselves, helps us think about what are the important political issues of the day and how we think about them. Digital media has become an integral part of the political lives of individual citizens as a growing number of people worldwide use digital media technologies for communication. However, Social media has become one of the key areas of influence for politics, where millions of users are able to learn about the policies and statements of politicians, interact with political leaders, organize, and express their opinions on political matters. The continuous development of science and t echnology has had a noteworthy implications on e ach and every aspects of politics, f rom gl obal t o r egional, b allot t o E lectronic V oting Machine, t raditional t o digital administration and many more. It has changed the character of Indian electoral and campaigning system as many new things are added to those. 2. RESEARCH METHOD For this study, experimental, historical, descriptive and analytical methods are used to understand how t echnology has c hanged t he nat ure I ndian pol itics and people’s r esponse t owards the interrelationship between technology and politics. All the data are collected from Pew Research Center, Center for Strategic & International Studies, Social Science Research Council, Fobes and Carnegie India. Bar diagram is used for data analysis. Secondary sources such as books, scholarly http://iaeme.com/Home/journal/IJARET 516 [email protected] Ankur Protim Mahanta articles published in journals, newspapers, data published in government documents, various official declarations and statements, reports etc. are used for overall enrichment the research and these help in getting various ideas. The entire research is based on inductive reasoning, interpretivism and constructionism. The error of central tendency scale is used while observing the r esearch a reas. Internet s ources a re a lso used t o update e mpirical data a nd f or overall enrichment of the study. 2.1. Research Question • What is the relationship between technology and politics? Who has driven whom? • What role does digital technology play in Indian administration, political campaigning and in electoral politics? • Should technology be perceived as problematic or can it provide a means to increasing accountability and transparency in government? 2.2. Understanding Politics in the era of technology The roots of politics are found in ancient civilizations around the world. The famous ancient political philosophers Plato, Aristotle and Kautilya have contributed greatly to the development of politics. However, when the world had entered the medieval era, where religion occupied a central place, the study of political science lost its scientific temperament. Nevertheless, the beginning of t he m odern e ra w ith i ndustrial a nd gl orious r evolutions has c hanged people's attitudes and aspects and pushed politics to reach another level. The rapid expansion of technology and digital facilities has changed its character of traditional politics, political behavior and campaign environment. The entire definitions of politics have changed with the availability and adoption of technology and new innovations. From political protest to people's behavior, policy formulation to policy implementation, every aspect of politics is changing and posing challenges to the state machinery as political protest becomes more stormy, unpredictable and societies become tougher to govern. 2.3. Technology and Politics: An overview An indirect correlation between technology and politics exists as both are related to human behavior and social environment. Traditionally, politics was not associated with human behavior and any other social values and norms. However, due to social flows and behavioral revolution in the field of politics, there exist mutual cooperation between technology and politics. 2.3.1. E-governance: Way to digital administration The concept of internetization has got currency as it narrates the empowerment of electronic connectivity in the age of new economy, characterized
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