In 2024, it is undeniable that the digital world plays an essential part in any political campaign. Never before have we had such powerful and accessible tools at our disposal as we now do online. But while we all agree on the political usefulness of this digital realm, it is not always clear how to make the most of its possibilities.

 

The American political scientist Robert Alan Dahl argued, and I agree, that we should digitally refurbish our old political institutions – the ones we have inherited from the 19th and 20th centuries. Through this digital renovation we will improve civic education, political participation, the availability of information, as well as democratic deliberation, according to Dahl. He could have equally well claimed the opposite: that the digital world will destroy these old institutions. It is true that, depending on how it is used, technology comes with its risks and its negative effects. The online world’s capacity for mass transmission, as well as the sheer quantity of information on the web, create conditions in which fake news, disinformation, and hate speech thrive. The way the web allows people to customize and personalize their experience leads to the creation of ideological and cultural bubbles. As cyber activist Eli Paniser writes: “Personalisation can produce a public sphere that is sorted and manipulated by algorithms’.’ Whether the possibilities inherent in the online world will be realized in a way that enhances democracy or in a way that impedes it, will depend on the values and attitudes according to which this space is regulated. I am among those who believe that for this reason, comprehensive frameworks are needed.

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At the ECDA, we make responsible use of technological tools – but our sense of responsibility does not prevent us from making the most of their potential. Digital tools have become indispensable instruments for developing communication strategies. Thanks to them, two long-standing progressive desires can be fulfilled: direct communication and a two-way communication line between (political) organizations and citizens.

 

Direct communication is without filters, free of vested editorial line interests, and free of algorithms, which are never neutral. Being able to communicate exactly what one wants, in one’s own format and language, is a great advantage. And so is bidirectionality: the ability to establish real communication channels between the traditional senders – social and political organizations – and the traditional receivers – citizens – making these roles more fluid.

 

Taking this qualitative leap is only possible if digital organizing really is a strategic priority for the organization, and this in turn is only possible if resources, technological tools, and knowledge of the best tactics are put into place. 

 

More than just about communicating information, today’s digital organizing is about establishing frameworks for deliberation: for conversations with the people. We are moving away from just informing citizens and moving towards listening to them, and building consensus within our communities. Participation is never an end in itself: it is a way to achieve certain objectives. Only pretending to care about what people think generates feelings of wasted time, and it greatly disincentivizes citizens from engaging with your organization.

 

We will empower people if we make proper use of online instruments that allow us to talk with them and reach a consensus based on their input, without any kind of self-interested intermediation. If we are able to convene and group together without the constraints of physical or time barriers. If we have tools that allow us to democratize an organization’s funding, putting the causes we defend in the hands of the people, relying on their fundraising engagement. If we know how to use all of the above, we will be able to empower people. Empowerment is the first step towards the creation of a cohesive and motivated digital community of supporters: an essential ally to win today’s political battles.

 

From the moment you invite a citizen to participate, he/she/they must be considered a protagonist of the process; their needs should be taken into account. They are not simply mere viewers of social struggles. To ensure this, information, communication, empathy, transparency, and accountability are essential.

 

The large mass parties of post-war Europe are shrinking or disappearing. Only by creating digital communities can large social and political groupings aligned with the same ideals and values be re-established. This is needed in order to achieve the same majorities with which we advanced peace, feminism, and social and climate justice.

 

It is said that the lack of physical contact that characterizes the online world, dehumanizes relationships and, by extension, organizations. So yes, we will have to find moments and spaces for offline contact too, and create opportunities to find each other in the real world, to get to know one another, and to recognise each other as actors in shared political battles. But however cold digital participation may be: it is the only kind today, in 2024, that allows for organized mass activity sustained over time.

 

Having been co-director of ECDA for over a year, I have seen the parties and organizations that we have worked with go to great lengths in order to immerse themselves in this digital ocean: an effort rewarded by the receptiveness shown to them by citizens. All this gives plenty of meaning to our work.