Information and American Democracy, Technology in the Evolution of Political Power

A fascinating and timely analysis of the effect of the internet on democracy and political institutions. Bimber sets his analysis within a framework of four information revolutions which have gradually extended the national reach of mass flows of political information. We are living through arguably the most interesting revolution now from centralised resource-dependent systems of market-driven organisations to a situation of information abundance (not to say overload) where 'post-bureaucratic political organisations' are a new basis for policy-making and collective action. This is where the internet is coming of age, a resource that does not require vast funds to operate effectively. This is a cutting edge book that should be read by all interested in the evolution of policy-making.