Questions in Politics The Journal of the Georgia Political Science Association Volume I Digital Tocqueville: Democracy in the Information Age Jennifer Joines University of Alabama What sort of insight does Alexis de Tocqueville’s analysis of American democracy provide us in the twenty-first century? In the introduction of Democracy in America, Tocqueville lays out a gradual historical progression of equality in Western society, one that culminates in the development of democratic regimes. Over the course of his analysis on America, Tocqueville shows that the progression toward equality and the stability of democracy is neither guaranteed nor inevitable. For Tocqueville, the future of democracy seemed uncertain in this burgeoning industrial society. We are now experiencing a new shift from an industrial society to a postindustrial, information-based society. The Internet has a particular, complex history that allows it to be used for both liberation and oppression. Because of the great potentiality of the Internet and the almost “universal” desire for democracy, Tocqueville’s concern for democratic despotism is still relevant today. This article looks at some of the pathologies of American democracy presented in Tocqueville’s analysis in conjunction with the political and societal pressures that have arisen in the Internet age. It also looks at recent social movements (the 2003 Iraq War protest, the Occupy and Tea Party movements) as examples for rethinking political participation and what democracy could look like when we utilize the Internet as a productive political tool. I believe that Tocqueville’s analysis is useful today to push us toward an alternative mode of “doing” democracy in order to deviate away from the path toward democratic despotism. In the introduction of Democracy in America, Alexis de Tocqueville lays out a gradual historical progression of equality in Western society, which culminates in the development of democratic regimes. Despite this particular account, America was the only democratic regime that existed in the West. 109