Political Communication in the Age of the Internet

When a first draft of this chapter was presented in 1999, research on the political uses of ICTs (Information and Communication Technologies), and particularly the Internet, was in a nascent state. This was partly due to the lack of commitment of political organizations. Although they foresee a time when political communication could be electronic, political organizations have been slow in going online. It was only in 2000 that the Internet was used in election campaigning in a visible fashion.