Adding Validity and New Results to the Global Explanations of e-Democracy

The use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in democratic processes, often summarized by the term e-democracy, has seldom been analysed from a global perspective. Although the UN eParticipation index provides one of the few examples of an international measurement of e-democracy, it has been thoroughly criticized. At the same time, however, a number of studies have added knowledge in the field of global determinants of e-democracy by using this very index. In this study I resolve this by: (1) examining whether the UN index is a valid measurement of e-democracy; (2) inquiring whether there are alternative measurements of e-democracy and finally (3) retesting the determinants of e-democracy using the UN index and alternatives together with a larger data set and more suitable estimations than have previously been used in this field. The article gives answer to these questions. First, even if the index has flaws it is not necessarily as problematic as assumed. Second, combining this index with measurements of democracy corresponds with the emphasis in the literature on e-democracy being embedded in democracy. Third, the determinants of e-democracy on a global scale show the positive importance of technology but also of socio-economic variables and population size.