The internet as a democratizer: Exploring "political voice" in a Philippine website blog

College

College of Liberal Arts

Department/Unit

Behavioral Sciences

Document Type

Conference Proceeding

Source Title

Ritsumeikan Studies in Language and Culture

Volume

23

Issue

4

First Page

151

Last Page

169

Publication Date

2012

Abstract

This paper examines http://kuro-kuro.org, which is at least one of the many active sites in Philippine blogosphere, in the context of Philippine democracy. This Internet address hosts a website blog that publishes essays submitted online by Filipino citizens all over the world. It was launched by Filipino expatriate supporters during the presidential campaign of Philippine President Benigno Simeon “Noynoy” Aquino III. It is fundamentally conjectured in this paper that political blogging has become a democratizing tool in the Philippines, which deepens democracy by foregrounding the “political voice” of ordinary citizens. This paper seeks to answer the following questions: does political blogging promote freedom of expression? Does it serve as a democratizing tool? How does blogging impact mass politics and democracy in general?

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Disciplines

Political Science | Social and Behavioral Sciences

Keywords

Internet—Political aspects; Blogs—Political aspects

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