27-05-2014

Freie Universität BerlinGraduate School of Global PoliticsDepartment of Social- and Political ScienceOtto- Suhr- Institut for Political SciencePresentor: Shihong Weng (Ph.D. GSGP)

One question？Is the Internet political participation become the most active part in the public affairs in China ，(Sun ， 2010 ；Gu ， 2010), or only the Crowd said by Gustav Le Bon （ The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind ）？（ Leibold ， 2011 ）

2013-05-16,almost 3000 PX protestors in Kunming city. （ Reuters)

A factory （ PX Project ） bombing （ 20130730 ）

Outline1. The effect mechanisms of Internet

political participation upon government decision-making

2. The analysis framework: participation-responsiveness model

3. Four modes of government response to Internet political participation for decision-making

4. Conclusion

Abstract

Methodology – An exploratory multi-case study. Findings – The study reveals the affect mechanism of Internet political participation on the government decision-making: power and information. This paper then argues four response modes of government decision-making under Internet political participation, i.e. ostrich mode, cuckoo mode, Queen Bee mode and mandarin duck mode. Key Words ： Internet political participation; decision-making; government response; mode; China

1. The effect mechanisms of Internet political participation upon government decision-making

Firstly, the power mechanism. the power in cyberspace is a key in understanding

the impact of Internet political participation upon government decision-making.

The digital revolution, in its deep core, is associated with power. (Slouka 1995, 71)

Social networking has become coordinating tools for nearly all of the world’s political movements”

(Shirky, 2011).

1. The effect mechanisms of Internet political participation upon government decision-making

Secondly, the information mechanism. Information is an essential factor of Internet political

participation impacts on government decision-making.

In the three kinds of Internet power (the technological power, the media power and the

imagined power), by Jordan(1995), the essence of technical power and media power is ownership and

control of power by which monopoly control of information.

at the end of 2013, the number of Chinese netizens reached 618 million, SNS has become a fact of

participation for the public (CNNIC 2014).

1. The effect mechanisms of Internet political participation upon government decision-making

Thirdly, the communication mechanism. The communication mechanism is a kind of logic

particular to China of rapid developing Internet political participation, and it will have a major impact

on all government decision-making processes. Internet plays an increasingly important role in the public political participation and social life, and has become the most active part of the public domain in

China (Sun 2010).In sharp contrast, “research and debate on the political

impact of the internet in the West has been more robust and wide-ranging in its focus, and far more

cautious in its conclusions.” (Leibold, 2011)

2. The analysis framework: participation-responsiveness model

Three parameters:

1.the level of networked public’s participation

2.the level of governments’ response3.the interactions level between the

networked publics and the government

2. participation-responsiveness model: Four modes of government response to Internet political participation for decision-making

(4) mandarin duck mode

(1) ostrich mode

(3) queen bee mode

(2) cuckoo mode

high Level of interaction 

high Level of governments’ response 　

low 　 Level of governments’ response

low Level of networked public’s participation 

high  Level of networked public’s participation

low Level of interaction

Source: the author.

3. Four modes3.1 Ostrich mode: netizens participate, the government does not respond

In this mode, although internet public users have been involved in and discussed the

issue on the internet, but the government ignored the public opinion, and did not

respond, adopting instead an ostrich policy. Characterized by a high level of participation

of Internet publics, but a very low level of government responsiveness, it is lack of

interaction with the two bodies. Case: banned BBS (a kind of forum online) by

the Bureau of Binhai County, Jiangsu Province.

3.2 Cuckoo mode: public opinion pre-emptive, passivegovernment

All decision-making processes can generally be simplified as: events happen, stakeholders claim to maintain their rights – events reported on the

social media platform – it attaches netizens intensive attention, and focus of online public opinion – then receives media coverage of - a

wide public opinion is attached, going as far as reaching the government - causing high-level

government attention – this is how an event can influence the decision-making agenda: to solve

the problem, adjust policies and programs. Case: The "Wenzhou train collision"

3.3 Queen Bee mode: Government-led, the public participate partlyThe so-called “queen bee mode” is defined by the

government acting as the queen bee, and urging worker bees to build together honeycomb. This mode plays a large part in the decision-making process by leading internet citizens to participate. It is characterized by a lower level of participation of internet public users, but a higher degree of interactions between internet subscribers and the government.

Case: the latest decision-making process of Xiamen PX (para-xylene) incident.

3.4: mandarin duck mode: government initiative, highly interaction between government and Internet publicsThis is an ideal model, characterized by a high level of

participation of Internet subscribers, a high level of government's response, and a high degree of interaction between the government and netizens. It is like a pair of mandarin ducks, inseparable, mutually caring for each other. This mode has not yet appeared. It is citizen- centered, facilitating a broad participation of citizens into the decision making process. It is convenient to open assessment of government action, and enables monitor and influence to correct exert. The process on the mandarin duck mode becomes institutionalized and normalized. It is the characteristic of participatory democracy, such as e-democracy.

Statistics: Four modes of government response to Internet political participation for decision-making (2007-2013)

modeNumbers of modes in each year

 

Numbers

Ratio (%)

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013

Ostrich mode1 2 2 2       7 6.54

Cuckoo mode14 13 15 11 12 11 13 89 83.18

Queen Bee mode1     2 3 2 3 11 10.28

mandarin duck mode       0       0 0.00

Sum of four modes 16 15 17 15 15 13 16 107 100.00

Sum of cases20 20 20 20 20 20 20 140  

Ratio of four modes in cases

(%)80.00 75.00 85.00 75.00 75.00 65.00 80.00 76.43  

Source: the author made with the data from CNNIC: http://yq.people.com.cn/PubOpinionRanking.htm.

3. ConclusionFor decision-making, it means that the mechanism of democratic

consultation, in which putting the power of the internet public opinion into a rational track, establishes a mechanism of power that can absorb reasonable components of public opinion.

In order to improve: Firstly, to improving information release system and establish a

governmental authority of source. Secondly, to establishing the open internet system of policies

decision-making and build in response-oriented government, integrated it into the Holistic Government.

Thirdly, to reforming the mechanism of government decision-making, and enhance the cost-benefit ratio of political participation.

Fourthly, to improving the legislation of internet political participation, and regulate the order of internet political participation. 　

27-05-2014