Karlskrona2 - den digitala staden: Nya mötesplatser för demokratin? [Karlskrona2: The Digital City. New Fora for Democracy?]

Abstract

The number of voters in the national election and of members in political parties is decreasing. How can the Internet contribute to participation and dialogue in political issues? Karlskrona2 was released on the Internet by the Danish artist collective Superflex in the year of 2000. The incentive was to create a digital copy of the Swedish city of Karlskrona for all its citizens, "a free zone" which could lead to change: "Initially, Karlskrona2 is an exact copy of Karlskrona, but as the virtual citizens meed and influence each other, there is a re-evaluation of the functions of the buildings, changes in social hierarchies and renewals and alterations of laws (Gunér 1999, translated by the author)". Will Karlskrona2 contribute to a wider and deeper democracy? There are few studies on new, spontaneously growing, net-based movements and meeting places - regardless of whether the area is art, politics or democracy. The aim of the article is to give an introduction to virtual communities and come of the questions a digital city raises in the physical world, particularly in connection to issues raised in the field of research on democracy.