"This book addresses one of the enduring questions of democratic government: why do governments choose some public policies but not others? Political executives focus on a range of policy issues, such as the economy, social policy, and foreign policy, but they shift their priorities over time....

Public authorities are increasingly using information and communication technology (ICT) to engage citizens in the politics, in particular through internet discussion forums. This paper reports findings from a large-scale online randomised controlled trail of 6,009 participants that aims to test...