Comparative Analysis of Digital Tools for Strengthening Democracy in the Visegrad Group Countries

Abstract

The article provides a comparative analysis of digital tools for strengthening democracy in the Visegrad Group countries. It is found that in the V4, the use of digital tools for democracy has common features, but differs in political and institutional logic. In the Czech Republic, digital participation services are developing as a continuation of inclusive state policies focused on long-term building of competencies and trust; digital consultations, petition platforms and local mechanisms of political participation are integrated into management processes, but their social effect depends on overcoming educational and age asymmetries of access. In Poland, digital political participation is evolving intensively against the backdrop of political competition and media polarization: e-government platforms coexist with active online mobilization of citizens, but the unevenness of skills and fragmentation of the information environment reduce the transformation of online activity into a stable instrument of institutional influence. In Hungary, digital channels of participation are used in conditions of concentration of power and strategic control over information flows: even with the availability of advanced technological solutions, the political environment restrains the emancipatory potential of digital tools, transferring them to a regime of controlled communication and limited accountability; here, not only the level of skills of the population becomes decisive, but also guarantees of the safety of expressions and the autonomy of institutions. In Slovakia, digital political participation advances unevenly, with efforts by the state and civil society to expand access and increase resilience to disinformation; online consultation and mobilization practices work better in urbanized and educationally capable environments, while social and territorial gaps hinder the entrenchment of digital mechanisms in the daily political process. The quality of digital democracy in the Visegrad is determined by the presence of digital platforms, the configuration of the political regime, trust in institutions and the structure of human capital. When institutional guarantees, educational investments and open communication are combined, digital tools become a real channel of inclusion and control. At the same time, when there are political barriers, polarization or a weak competence base, they remain a potential for the development of traditional forms of politics.