I have a strong professional background in democratic governance, new technologies and development. My experience include managing teams and project in the field of democratic governance at UNDP Belarus; working as public policy consultant for an international company (Technopolis Ltd); and numerous engagements as expert in civic participation (EESC), development of online voting advice applications (VVA) and other online platforms for development (UNICEF).
My research interests embrace electronic democracy, participatory democracy and political participation. I am particularly interested in understanding how Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) are used in civic participation and how ICT can strengthen citizens’ role in political processes. Supervisors: Alexander Trechsel
Internet Science. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 2016
The purpose of this paper is to discuss challenges of measuring media pluralism and freedom in th... more The purpose of this paper is to discuss challenges of measuring media pluralism and freedom in the digital age. We do this while presenting the updates of Media Pluralism Monitor implemented by the Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom in three consecutive cycles (2014, 2015 and 2016). The paper explores methodological limitations and other pressing issues in regard to optimal assessment of risks to media pluralism in the digital environment.
“Independent Reporting Mechanism Sweden: End of Term Report 2014–2016” (2017). Open Government Pa... more “Independent Reporting Mechanism Sweden: End of Term Report 2014–2016” (2017). Open Government Partnership (OGP). In English and Swedish.
Working paper. EUI RSCAS; 2017/01; Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom (CMPF). //cadmus.... more Working paper. EUI RSCAS; 2017/01; Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom (CMPF). //cadmus.eui.eu/bitstream/handle/1814/45004/RSCAS_2017_01.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
Forthcoming in Comunicazione Politica (ComPol). Special issue titled “Gender, politics and the me... more Forthcoming in Comunicazione Politica (ComPol). Special issue titled “Gender, politics and the media. Lessons learned and struggles for change twenty years after the Beijing Fourth World Conference on Women” to be published in September 2017.
Page 1. Fibre Sciences and Communication Network (FSCN): An Evaluation Erik Arnold Alina Östling ... more Page 1. Fibre Sciences and Communication Network (FSCN): An Evaluation Erik Arnold Alina Östling with Gary Baum Björn Lindman Patrice Mangin David McDonald May 2003 Page 2. Contents 1 The Fibre Science and Communication Network 3 1.1 FSCN goals 4 ...
The past decade has brought a boom of online initiatives that monitor performance of parliaments ... more The past decade has brought a boom of online initiatives that monitor performance of parliaments – a practice commonly referred to as ‘parliamentary informatics’. A recent survey identified 191 organisations monitoring over 80 parliaments worldwide; many of these use digital tools to aggregate information and facilitate citizens’ involvement in parliamentary activity (Mandelbaum 2011). At the same time, little is actually known about who uses these platforms and whether they increase the quality of democracy. This paper aims to fill this gap by assessing parliamentary informatics projects in three European countries from the point of view of key democratic dimensions: equality, accountability, and political responsiveness.
In particular, the paper shows that parliamentary informatics projects achieve mixed results in terms of democratic quality. Many of the traditionally underrepresented groups in politics have even more limited presence on these online platforms. The accountability - including access to user-friendly, close to real-time, and objective political information that help ordinary citizen to hold their representative accountable - turns out to be the strongpoint of this type of projects. However, users do not consider transparency of information to be enough. Many participants build up significant expectations about political effects of their engagement. Yet, their expectations are generally disappointed by lack of impact.
The objective of this study is to describe the EU national governments’ consultation with civil s... more The objective of this study is to describe the EU national governments’ consultation with civil society at national level, Member State by Member State. To achieve objective 1, each country expert has carried out internet investigations. As a general rule, the country experts have interviewed two members (or representatives) of two different CSOs operating in two different sectors. These interviews do not constitute a representative sample but have nonetheless enabled us to add more information to that already available through official documents, and to read it from a different, often relatively critical, angle. The description of each national government consultation with civil society is provided in four different sections, following the same pattern for each case examined. 1. Introduction 2. Formal Framework for Civil Society Consultation 3. European Issues Consultation 4. Conclusion
From Informing to Empowering: Improving Government-Civil Society Interactions within OGP, 2015
The report, commissioned by Hivos and carried out with a grant of the IDRC in Canada, looked at g... more The report, commissioned by Hivos and carried out with a grant of the IDRC in Canada, looked at government-civil society interactions within 9 OGP member countries: Peru, Honduras, Chile, South Africa, Tanzania, Ghana, Croatia, Romania, and Armenia. The central questions guiding the report are: How have governments in OGP participating countries interacted with civil society on matters related to OGP? And, what factors have been critical for success or failure?
Internet Science. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 2016
The purpose of this paper is to discuss challenges of measuring media pluralism and freedom in th... more The purpose of this paper is to discuss challenges of measuring media pluralism and freedom in the digital age. We do this while presenting the updates of Media Pluralism Monitor implemented by the Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom in three consecutive cycles (2014, 2015 and 2016). The paper explores methodological limitations and other pressing issues in regard to optimal assessment of risks to media pluralism in the digital environment.
“Independent Reporting Mechanism Sweden: End of Term Report 2014–2016” (2017). Open Government Pa... more “Independent Reporting Mechanism Sweden: End of Term Report 2014–2016” (2017). Open Government Partnership (OGP). In English and Swedish.
Working paper. EUI RSCAS; 2017/01; Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom (CMPF). //cadmus.... more Working paper. EUI RSCAS; 2017/01; Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom (CMPF). //cadmus.eui.eu/bitstream/handle/1814/45004/RSCAS_2017_01.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
Forthcoming in Comunicazione Politica (ComPol). Special issue titled “Gender, politics and the me... more Forthcoming in Comunicazione Politica (ComPol). Special issue titled “Gender, politics and the media. Lessons learned and struggles for change twenty years after the Beijing Fourth World Conference on Women” to be published in September 2017.
Page 1. Fibre Sciences and Communication Network (FSCN): An Evaluation Erik Arnold Alina Östling ... more Page 1. Fibre Sciences and Communication Network (FSCN): An Evaluation Erik Arnold Alina Östling with Gary Baum Björn Lindman Patrice Mangin David McDonald May 2003 Page 2. Contents 1 The Fibre Science and Communication Network 3 1.1 FSCN goals 4 ...
The past decade has brought a boom of online initiatives that monitor performance of parliaments ... more The past decade has brought a boom of online initiatives that monitor performance of parliaments – a practice commonly referred to as ‘parliamentary informatics’. A recent survey identified 191 organisations monitoring over 80 parliaments worldwide; many of these use digital tools to aggregate information and facilitate citizens’ involvement in parliamentary activity (Mandelbaum 2011). At the same time, little is actually known about who uses these platforms and whether they increase the quality of democracy. This paper aims to fill this gap by assessing parliamentary informatics projects in three European countries from the point of view of key democratic dimensions: equality, accountability, and political responsiveness.
In particular, the paper shows that parliamentary informatics projects achieve mixed results in terms of democratic quality. Many of the traditionally underrepresented groups in politics have even more limited presence on these online platforms. The accountability - including access to user-friendly, close to real-time, and objective political information that help ordinary citizen to hold their representative accountable - turns out to be the strongpoint of this type of projects. However, users do not consider transparency of information to be enough. Many participants build up significant expectations about political effects of their engagement. Yet, their expectations are generally disappointed by lack of impact.
The objective of this study is to describe the EU national governments’ consultation with civil s... more The objective of this study is to describe the EU national governments’ consultation with civil society at national level, Member State by Member State. To achieve objective 1, each country expert has carried out internet investigations. As a general rule, the country experts have interviewed two members (or representatives) of two different CSOs operating in two different sectors. These interviews do not constitute a representative sample but have nonetheless enabled us to add more information to that already available through official documents, and to read it from a different, often relatively critical, angle. The description of each national government consultation with civil society is provided in four different sections, following the same pattern for each case examined. 1. Introduction 2. Formal Framework for Civil Society Consultation 3. European Issues Consultation 4. Conclusion
From Informing to Empowering: Improving Government-Civil Society Interactions within OGP, 2015
The report, commissioned by Hivos and carried out with a grant of the IDRC in Canada, looked at g... more The report, commissioned by Hivos and carried out with a grant of the IDRC in Canada, looked at government-civil society interactions within 9 OGP member countries: Peru, Honduras, Chile, South Africa, Tanzania, Ghana, Croatia, Romania, and Armenia. The central questions guiding the report are: How have governments in OGP participating countries interacted with civil society on matters related to OGP? And, what factors have been critical for success or failure?
Chapter in the IRIS Special issue. “Regional and local broadcasting in Europe”. A report on regi... more Chapter in the IRIS Special issue. “Regional and local broadcasting in Europe”. A report on regional media in Europe. Council of Europe. European Audiovisual Observatory.
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Papers by Alina Ostling
In particular, the paper shows that parliamentary informatics projects achieve mixed results in terms of democratic quality. Many of the traditionally underrepresented groups in politics have even more limited presence on these online platforms. The accountability - including access to user-friendly, close to real-time, and objective political information that help ordinary citizen to hold their representative accountable - turns out to be the strongpoint of this type of projects. However, users do not consider transparency of information to be enough. Many participants build up significant expectations about political effects of their engagement. Yet, their expectations are generally disappointed by lack of impact.
In particular, the paper shows that parliamentary informatics projects achieve mixed results in terms of democratic quality. Many of the traditionally underrepresented groups in politics have even more limited presence on these online platforms. The accountability - including access to user-friendly, close to real-time, and objective political information that help ordinary citizen to hold their representative accountable - turns out to be the strongpoint of this type of projects. However, users do not consider transparency of information to be enough. Many participants build up significant expectations about political effects of their engagement. Yet, their expectations are generally disappointed by lack of impact.