Ralf Lindner

Electronic, Internet-Based Voting

E-voting, and in particular Internet-based remote voting, has been a controversial topic since its early beginnings more than a decade ago. For instance, many proponents of Internet voting argue that the introduction of an online voting channel would help to reverse the decline in turnout rates. Despite all the hypothetical benefits, however, an essential condition of voting is that the process rules out any possibility of fraud. Yet, as this chapter shows, it is questionable whether this prerequisite can actually be fulfilled by Internet voting due to security concerns. Due to its interdisciplinary nature, an investigation of e-voting requires a comprehensive approach that considers technical, legal, social and political aspects. Chapter 4 of this book tackles this challenge and is structured in two main sections: First, e-voting is approached from a theoretical perspective and the legal, technical, political and social issues that should be considered are presented. Second, an analytical framework comprising the five dimensions of history and background, motivation, legal context, organizational context and socio-political context is applied to in-depth case studies of Estonia, the Netherlands, Norway and Switzerland. These case studies provide empirical evidence and the subsequent discussion allows a comparative and contextualised investigation of Internet voting and conclusions to be drawn with reference to the European perspective.

Europe's plans for responsible science

Drug addiction is a major global health issue, and the opioid crisis is a notable example of its catastrophic effects (1). In his News In Depth story “Chemists seek antiaddiction drugs to battle hijacked brain” (13 April, p. 139), R. F. Service discusses some promising ways to treat drug addiction, including vigabatrin and a more effective version of that drug named OV329. However, the optimistic tone of the article should be tempered by the potential side effects of these treatments. The gamma-aminobutyric acid aminotransferase (GABA-AT) enzyme plays a key role in brain signaling by inactivating GABA (2). Currently, the only licensed drug that targets this enzyme is vigabatrin, an antiepileptic that is usually reserved for severe intractable seizures (2). OV329 is mechanistically similar to vigabatrin, but—as Service explains in the News story—it binds more tightly to GABA-AT. Although more potent GABA-AT inhibitors may reduce the dopaminergic signaling that is responsible for reinforcing addiction, we should be aware of the possibility that these drugs may themselves cause physical and/or psychological dependence. Edited by Jennifer Sills LETTERS

Navigieren in Richtung Responsible Research and Innovation: Governanceprinzipien zur strategischen Reflexion

Das Konzept ‚Responsible Research and Innovation‘ und dessen Akronym ‚RRI‘ hat in den letzten Jahren eine bemerkenswerte Dynamik entfaltet: ausgehend insbesondere von den Debatten um responsible development in der Nanotechnologie zu Beginn der 2000er Jahre erreicht RRI im akademischen Diskurs über Forschung und Innovation (FuI) inzwischen eine beachtliche Aufmerksamkeit (vgl. Rip 2014) und hat sich als Querschnittthema im laufenden Forschungsrahmenprogramm Horizont 2020 der Europäischen Union etabliert (vgl. European Commission 2014).

Outlook: The Way Forward for European E-Democracy

“Electronic Democracy in Europe” investigates the current state and potentials of e-democracy in Europe from three partially overlapping and interlocking perspectives—e-public, e-participation and e-voting. The final chapter of this book summarises the main results of the preceding analyses and combines a prospective outlook with recommendations for future pathways towards a meaningful integration of e-democracy in European politics.

Electronic Democracy in Europe: An Introduction

With the rise of the WWW as a platform for mass media, the question of the Internet’s potential to change politics and democratic decision-making quickly captured the attention of many researchers and practitioners. Despite an impressive body of literature and numerous experiences with the political dimension of the new media technologies, there are still many uncertainties regarding the interplay of the Internet and political processes in contemporary representative democracies. What is more, the specific challenges of electronic democracy related to the unique institutional makeup and governance processes of the European Union remain uncharted territory.