The interactive platforms of Web 2.0 have not only changed the Internet but political communication as well. So called social networks, weblogs or microblogs have revolutionized our communication behaviour. What all these have in common is the active participation of the user in the creation and distribution of content as well as worldwide networking and the ensuing global dissemination of the contents.

The classic institutions of politics and society are trying to adapt to the speed, complexity and consequences of these changes. The Internet has already become object and medium of politics, without necessarily involving existing institutions. The wide-ranging new opportunities to participate, which can bypass the traditional political infrastructures, have already taken on a global character.

National political regulation, reflecting the former status quo of the state and its citizens, is still having to catch up.

Since the Internet forms part of reality and is not a parallel virtual space, it has considerable influence on the different political systems and the associated social and economic conditions. Any euphoria about a global digital community is premature in this context. Nonetheless, the creative potential of the interactive digital networks for political communication, opinion forming and decision making as well as mobilization should not be underestimated. Especially under restrictive political conditions or in reduced economic circumstances, the possibilities for participation that Web 2.0 facilitates represent an important opportunity for the free expression of political opinion. And the access threshold is very low. A computer with an Internet connection or a cell phone is all that is required.

Traditional media such as newspapers, radio or TV require a far more elaborate infrastructure. In addition, they are also often hampered by editorial filters, economic and political circumstances. The forward march of Web 2.0, which is far more participatory by nature, will therefore gain in strength in future. If for no other reason than it being far more difficult to control, corrupt, or blackmail

– in spite of blocks, censorship and other restrictions in many countries. Furthermore, the new communication quality of these interactive digital networks is based on the involvement of both recipient and sender.

In future, political communication will therefore be controlled to a considerably lesser extent through the current actors (party organizations, trades unions, or associations). With its platforms and networks, the Internet is itself acting as the channel of political communication and mobilization. The challenges to the actors of the past are to disseminate their ideas and objectives on the Internet, present them there for discussion far more prolifically than they are doing now and to begin building virtual networks. In the new interview-series “Cyber-Mobilization” the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung introduces actors of the Web 2.0 and asks for their aims and motivations.