Democracia e internet: apontamentos para a sistematização dos estudos da área

Despite the agreement that the internet transforms the relationship of individuals with political information up to a point and that it allows distinct ways of relationship between citizenship and the State, neither the type of impact it generates nor its extension is clear. Accordingly, through the mapping of research about the internet and democracy, the present article tries to identify some key moments of the discussion and to contribute to the development of the research field. A classification with three mains divisions has been adopted: the first one is related to the affiliation of the authors in relation to the social or institutional origins; the second one refers to the theoretical platform used and to the researchers’ choices in view of the theoretical framework; and the third one considers the types of impact of the internet. Finally, a conception named "forms of use", which systematic orientation may help the development of future research, is explained.