Leiden University Student Repository

Klotsonis, David (2022)

The Role of Trust in EU e-Participation: The Case of e-Petitions to the European Parliament

Master thesis | Political Science (MSc)

Electronic participation initiatives at the national and the EU-level have been consistently increasing in number and scope in the last two decades. Despite this trend, adoption of e-participation tools by citizens remains low. By conducting an analysis of e-petitions to the European Parliament in the period from 2013 – 2019, this study examines whether more trust towards the EU leads to more EU-level e-participation. Although previous studies have shown a positive relationship between trust and e-participation at the local and national levels, this is the first study to examine whether the same relationship exists at the EU-level. The results from a multiple linear regression across 27 member states suggest that more trust towards the EU does not lead to more e-participation. This finding is a first step in uncovering the dynamics between trust and e-participation in the EU, which could have important policy implications for the design and deployment of e-participation initiatives...Show moreElectronic participation initiatives at the national and the EU-level have been consistently increasing in number and scope in the last two decades. Despite this trend, adoption of e-participation tools by citizens remains low. By conducting an analysis of e-petitions to the European Parliament in the period from 2013 – 2019, this study examines whether more trust towards the EU leads to more EU-level e-participation. Although previous studies have shown a positive relationship between trust and e-participation at the local and national levels, this is the first study to examine whether the same relationship exists at the EU-level. The results from a multiple linear regression across 27 member states suggest that more trust towards the EU does not lead to more e-participation. This finding is a first step in uncovering the dynamics between trust and e-participation in the EU, which could have important policy implications for the design and deployment of e-participation initiatives in the future.Show less

e-participation

trust

EU

EU Parliament

e-petitions

Author

Klotsonis, David

Faculty

Faculty of Social & Behavioural Sciences

Specialisation

Parties, Parliaments and Democracy

Supervisors

Otjes, S.P.

ECTS Credits

60

Language

en