Do Institutional E-Petitions Have an Impact? The E-Petitions from the Chamber of Deputies in Luxembourg

Luxembourg is one of the few parliaments (see also the Scottish parliament and the Bundestag), to have introduced an e-petitions system. Since its introduction its success with regards to the number of e-petitions and the signatures is high and constant to the point that it has probably become the main national e-democratic participative tool for the resident population. However little is known about its impact. This paper will focus on the impact of public e-petitions, corresponding to the petitions that have reached the threshold of 4500 signatures. It will be assessed by analyzing: 1) the debates of the MPs in commission and plenary; 2) the coverage of the media (essentially the print media); 3) the extent to which they have led to political decisions (laws or actions plans). The results should be of interest for academics because there is a lack of studies that measure in a systematic way the impact of institutional e-petitions. It should also be of interest for the broader public as it will contribute to identify the (combination of) factors that explain the success of an e-petition.