Political participation in the digital age : an ethnographic comparison between Iceland and Germany This book explores the potential of the Internet for enabling new and flexible political participation modes. It meticulously illustrates how the Internet is responsible for citizens participation practices from being general high threshold temporally constricted and dependent on physical presence to being topic centered low threshold temporally discontinuous and independent from physical presence. With its ethnographic focus on Icelandic and German online participation tools Betri Reykjavík and LiquidFriesland the book offers plentiful advice for citizens programmers politicians and administrations alike on how to get the most out of online participation formats Frontmatter Table of Content Acknowledgements 1 Introduction 2.1 Update Loading (Re)defining Political Participation 2.2 Internet and Politics 2.3 Conclusion 3 Doing Ethnography I: Constructing Research Fields 4.1 LiquidFriesland 4.2 Betri Reykjavík 5 Doing Ethnography II: Methods and Translating Them into Practice 6.1 Participant Observation 6.2 Interviews 6.3 Focus Groups 6.4 Conclusion 7 Doing Ethnography III: Making Sense of the Data 8.1 Political Participation A Definition 8.2 Information Practices through the Ages 8.3 Communication within Online Participation Tools: Software is Politics 8.4 Political Participation in the Digital Age 8.5 The Role of Geographical Proximity in (Online) Political Participation 8.6 Conclusion 9 Conclusion 10.1 Works Cited 10.2 Figures