Tsaliki, Liza. "Online forums and the enlargement of public space: Research findings from a European project." Javnost-The Public 9.2 (2002): 95-112.

This paper investigates online political forums as emerging public spaces that enhance public deliberation, focusing on how the Internet facilitates political participation, democratic deliberation, and reasoned argumentation. The study analyzes open public forums in Greece, the Netherlands, and Britain, finding high levels of interactive communication, information search, and diversity of opinions, with a moderate degree of substantiated argumentation. While these findings suggest an enlargement of public space, the study cautions that without systematic public testing of opinions, the Internet's role in democratic deliberation may be undermined, potentially reducing it to push-button democracy. Thus, cyberspace mirrors everyday political struggles for power and influence.