Abstract

The issue of the effect of the modern information and communication technologies on the development of democracy and citizens’ participation during recent years has attracted the researchers. This hypothesis is theoretically mentioned that the development of the information and communication technologies results in the increased citizens’ participation and democracy development. However, few empirical tests have been conducted to confirm this hypothesis. The present study uses panel data from 189 countries and empirically tests this hypothesis during 2003-2012. In the present research model, the variable of information and communication technologies and the components of technology infrastructure, online services, electronic participation, and electronic government are considered as independent variables and democracy level is considered as a dependent variable. The research method is econometrics; panel data analysis and generalized regression analysis with GLS method have been used for hypothesis analysis and testing. The research findings indicated that information technology has a positive effect on democracy development.