Parties, Candidates and Citizens On-Line - Åbo Akademi

proportional systems. It is therefore reasonable to expect more campaign efforts by the
smaller parties in such a context. Likewise, scholars have argued that it is also reasonable
to expect more Internet activity by parties in competitive party systems than in noncompetitive
party systems (Cunha et al. 2003: 70).
Country development
The level of country development is also interesting to consider in the study. Norris
(2001b: 164-7) has regarded the level of democracy, the level of human development and
the level of technological development as potential explanations for the occurrence and
content of party websites. Democratic status would seem to be associated with pluralism
and diversity of voices and could stimulate equalization. However, the effects of
democracy on electoral competition are more a question of process than of status (Norris
2004). In countries with a long history of democracy, the status of democracy per se is
unlikely to cause much change in patterns of electoral competition. In countries in
transition or with short history of democracy, on the other hand, democratic status could
indeed play a more significant role. The new opportunities for free and open competition
could serve as strong incentives for smaller parties to endeavour onto the electoral arena
(ibid.). Consequently, democratic transition and the aftermath thereafter could also
stimulate Internet activity by minor and fringe parties.
Human- and technological development are also intriguing conditions. Human
development is an indicator of the general socioeconomic level of a country which has
also been regarded as an explanation for individual-level usage of the Internet (Norris
2001b, 68-92). The distribution and contents of party websites are also to a large degree
explained by the level of technological development (Norris 2001b: 165-6). The
technological environment is so-to-speak more suitable for on-line ventures by political
actors in technologically advanced countries (Cunha et al. 2003: 71). Without such an
environment, web activity might be sporadic and possible patterns of party competition
may yet change significantly. Political parties lack incentives for launching websites if
most voters lack access to the technology (Cunha et al. 2003: 70; Norris 2001b: 165).
Media environment
The importance of media in modern political campaigning is significant (e.g. Blumler &
Gurevitch 1995; Norris 2001a; Swanson & Mancini 1996). Thus, it seems reasonable to
take the media environment into account in this study. Hallin and Mancini (2004: 66-9)
acknowledge three models of media systems: the Polarized Pluralist model, the
Democratic Corporatist model and the Liberal model 1. In the Polarized Pluralist system,
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