Mediated Political and Social Participation: Examining the Use of the Internet by Mongolian Government and Civil Society Institutions

This study examines how governmental and civil society institutions in Mongolia use online discussion forums and whether or not these institutions benefit politically and socially from that use. By integrating the notion of civic culture proposed by Dahlgren (2005), and that of “zero institution” by Dean (2003), this study discusses the use of online participation by Mongolian government and civil society institutions and the issues of the digital democracy based on data gathered from 23 qualitative in depth interviews conducted in 2005. Mongolian institutions are striving to use the Internet for democratic purposes, indicated by their efforts to use discussion forums for public participation in various ways; however, mediated political participation is also being molded by old institutional routines and the challenges inherent in newly established institutions. These limiting factors have not prevented a shifting of power, to some extent influenced by the Internet, among Mongolian institutions in recent years.