Politically un-interactive web: transformations of online politics in Slovenia

摘要

The present text approaches transformations of political institutions and their communication: first, from the perspective of their online representations and second, from the perspective of their designers and strategists. The paper argues that politicians use online tools and appear in online platforms according to the strategies designed by the very creators of online sites. The text focuses on the Slovene online political platform and its change over time, arguing that the early informational period of political online representations was transformed into a more individualised form of online politics. The strategic approach to online communication is grasped at different levels: it is a question of how the planners (1) perceive the web as a political tool, (2) understand the potential of interactivity and (3) reflect upon obstacles that disable two-way communication between political agents and citizens. A critical evaluation of the crucial obstacles to more interactive online political communication is presented.