DIGITALISATION AND CITIZEN PARTICIPATION IN DELIBERATIVE PROCESSES

Abstract

The article notes that digital technologies and resources are defining new institutional environments with more transparent and direct decision-making processes, e-governance enables more efficient management processes, and digital communication tools enhance political debate and participation through e-voting. These tools provide civil society with more effective tools to hold political elites accountable or access to new platforms or other infrastructures that enable deeper citizen engagement.
The main drawback of digitalisation is that these processes do not cover the entire population, leading to a growing digital divide and inequality. Unequal access to technology is caused by: the digital divide; digital exclusion; and digital ignorance. However, despite these shortcomings, digitalisation opens up new opportunities for the use of deliberative instruments. One of the main advantages of deliberative discourse is its ability to balance the positions of all participants, regardless of how many people they represent, as they are presented on an equal footing with equal voice.
The author analyses the practice and prospects of using such deliberative instruments using digitalisation opportunities in Ukraine as special applications («Diia», the Unified State Portal of Electronic Services, etc. ) and legislative support for public consultations, which must be held in electronic form on the development, formation and implementation of state policy in the relevant area, and on solving local issues through the preparation of draft policy documents and regulatory acts to reconcile public and private interests.