The innovative forms of participation : case of Slovak parliamentary elections

english

2025

volume 18, issue 2

crisis of representative democracy   slacktivism

Univerza v Ljubljani, Fakulteta za družbene vede
(Obvezni izvod spletne publikacije)
Alma Mater Europaea - Evropski center, Maribor
(Obvezni izvod spletne publikacije)

One of the long-term interests of political scientists is researching the scope of civic and political participation in public affairs. The current decrease in civic activism is related to the crisis of representative democracy which reflects a growing distrust of politicians and political institutions. Innovative forms of participation serve as tools to mitigate this crisis and support civic engagement. The result of a comparative analysis reveals that the online activism of politicians significantly impacted political awareness during the Slovak parliamentary election in 2020 and 2023. In addition to traditional media, online campaigns had a substantial mobilizing influence on voter turnout, particularly in 2023. However, a negative aspect of citizens' online participation is slacktivism which refers to participation that lacks a real impact on social change.

12.02.2026