In 1998, David Resnick proposed one of the most influential theories of e-campaigning. In an article, entitled “Politics on the Internet: The Normalization of Cyberspace”, he challenged the notion that the World Wide Web could improve democratic competitions. Rather, he argued, the Internet will replicate typical shortcomings and deficits of offline electioneering as regards the formal style of online political communication (functional normalization), the power relations between different political actors in cyberspace (relational normalization), and the argumentative patterns of e-campaigning (discursive normalization). The paper tests these assumptions (a) in all dimensions simultaneously, (b) for both web 1.0 and web 2.0 features, (c) in a longitudinal design. It is based on a quantitative content and structural analysis of German party websites in the National Elections 2002-2009. The results show that the normalization thesis holds true in all its components over time and in the web 2.0 era: Parties still focus on the top-down elements of information provision and delivery while interactive options are scarce. The digital divide between parliamentary and non-parliamentary parties has narrowed over time, but remains visible for all online functions in 2009. Moreover, the gap is wider in web 2.0 than in web 1.0 which suggests that the latest technical innovations in e-campaigning have exacerbated rather than diminished existing political inequalities on the Internet. Finally, German e-campaigns increasingly reflect those patterns of traditional election coverage that have been held accountable for rising political alienation in the public, i.e. horse-race reporting and extensive negativism. Theoretical implications are discussed.
