Governments seek to encourage participation in order to improve the efficiency, acceptance, and legitimacy of political processes.  Citizens, non-governmental organizations, businesses, lobbyists, and pressure groups demand participation in order to further their own interests, either within the established political system or outside it through activism and civil disobedience.  Participation contributes to deliberation, opinion forming, agenda setting, political decision making, and feedback mechanisms (where these can be thought of as stages of a policy-making cycle).  Participation is therefore an important component of all democratic systems, and in some democratic forms (such as direct democracy) it is the central component.  Governments and the public sector are making increasing use of information and communication technologies, to foment participatory activities.
 
eParticipation, therefore, involves the extension and transformation of participation in societal democratic and consultative processes that are mediated by information and communication technologies.  It synergistically enhances democratic and the formal political processes through the use of new digital technologies by facilitating, changing, and improving patterns of democratic deliberation and decision-making.  This special issue is devoted to further our understanding of the emerging research area of eParticipation.
 
Papers that address theory and practice of all aspects of eParticipation are invited.  Case studies and empirical research are welcome.  Contributions will be evaluated on their originality, clarity and relevance.  Submissions from all interdisciplinary areas and from people with practical experience in industry or government are encouraged.