| While rapid advances in information technology have occurred in the private sector, government and nonprofit organizations have been much slower to embrace e-mail and the Internet. Proponents of government use of information technology assert that e-mail and the Internet will lead to increased political participation and better representation. Critics in contrast contend that information technology will not necessarily lead to increased participation and that those who already wield power will continue to monopolize power. My dissertation investigates how and to what degree state legislators and interest groups, and to a lesser degree constituents, use e-mail and the Internet in legislative politics. Specifically I examine how these new technologies impact representation, political participation and democratization.;To examine the impact of information technology on state legislators and interest groups mail-in surveys were sent to 390 state legislators and 400 interest groups in Vermont and New York. I also conducted in-depth interviews with a total of 31 state legislators and 24 executive directors and presidents of interest groups. Findings from my research indicate that there is increased use of e-mail and the Internet by legislators, and that information technology improves representation. In addition, the data show that legislators and interest groups perceive there to be increased political participation by constituents and interest groups as a result of information technology, lending support to scholars who are optimistic about the benefits of information technology. Despite this perception of increased political participation, interest groups that represent under and unrepresented populations have not benefited from information technology as much as some scholars have hoped. Even with the advent of e-mail and the Internet inequalities in power among interest groups have not diminished, strengthening the claims made by the critics. |
