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Scraping the demos. Digitalization, web scraping and the democratic project

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  • Ulbricht, Lena

Abstract

Scientific, political and bureaucratic elites use epistemic practices like “big data analysis” and “web scraping” to create representations of the citizenry and to legitimize policymaking. I develop the concept of “demos scraping” for these practices of gaining information about citizens (the “demos”) through automated analysis of digital trace data which are re-purposed for political means. This article critically engages with the discourse advocating demos scraping and provides a conceptual analysis of its democratic implications. It engages with the promise of demos scraping advocates to reduce the gap between political elites and citizens and highlights how demos scraping is presented as a superior form of accessing the “will of the people” and to increase democratic legitimacy. This leads me to critically discuss the implications of demos scraping for political representation and participation. In its current form, demos scraping is technocratic and de-politicizing; and the larger political and economic context in which it takes place makes it unlikely that it will reduce the gap between elites and citizens. From the analytic perspective of a post-democratic turn, demos scraping is an attempt of late modern and digitalized societies to address the democratic paradox of increasing citizen expectations coupled with a deep legitimation crisis.

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  • Ulbricht, Lena, 2020. "Scraping the demos. Digitalization, web scraping and the democratic project," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 27(3), pages 426-442.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:espost:218872
    DOI: 10.1080/13510347.2020.1714595
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    1. Hofmann, Jeanette, 2019. "Mediated democracy – Linking digital technology to political agency," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 8(2), pages 1-18.
    2. Rose, Nikolas, 1991. "Governing by numbers: Figuring out democracy," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 16(7), pages 673-692.
    3. Hofmann, Jeanette, 2019. "Mediated democracy – Linking digital technology to political agency," Internet Policy Review: Journal on Internet Regulation, Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society (HIIG), Berlin, vol. 8(2), pages 1-18.
    4. Karen Yeung, 2018. "Algorithmic regulation: A critical interrogation," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 12(4), pages 505-523, December.
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    Cited by:

    1. Berg, Sebastian & Hofmann, Jeanette, 2021. "Digital democracy," Internet Policy Review: Journal on Internet Regulation, Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society (HIIG), Berlin, vol. 10(4), pages 1-23.
    2. Ulbricht, Lena, 2020. "Algorithmen und Politisierung [Algorithms and politicization]," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 0, pages 255-278.
    3. Lena Ulbricht & Karen Yeung, 2022. "Algorithmic regulation: A maturing concept for investigating regulation of and through algorithms," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 16(1), pages 3-22, January.
    4. Florian Eyert & Florian Irgmaier & Lena Ulbricht, 2022. "Extending the framework of algorithmic regulation. The Uber case," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 16(1), pages 23-44, January.
    5. Staab, Philipp & Thiel, Thorsten, 2022. "Social Media and the Digital Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 39(4), pages 129-143.
    6. Alex Luscombe & Kevin Dick & Kevin Walby, 2022. "Algorithmic thinking in the public interest: navigating technical, legal, and ethical hurdles to web scraping in the social sciences," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 56(3), pages 1023-1044, June.
    7. Berg, Sebastian & Hofmann, Jeanette, 2021. "Digital democracy," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 10(4), pages 1-23.
    8. Eyert, Florian & Irgmaier, Florian & Ulbricht, Lena, 2022. "Extending the framework of algorithmic regulation. The Uber case," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 16(1), pages 23-44.
    9. Berg, Sebastian & König, Tim & Koster, Ann-Kathrin, 2020. "Political Opinion Formation as Epistemic Practice: The Hashtag Assemblage of #metwo," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 8(4), pages 84-95.
    10. Sebastian Berg & Tim König & Ann-Kathrin Koster, 2020. "Political Opinion Formation as Epistemic Practice: The Hashtag Assemblage of #metwo," Media and Communication, Cogitatio Press, vol. 8(4), pages 84-95.
    11. Julia Rone, 2023. "Beyond Brexit? Public Participation in Decision-Making on Campaign Data During and After Referendum Campaigns," Media and Communication, Cogitatio Press, vol. 11(1), pages 69-80.

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