Resumen
In this article, the authors discuss the so-called democratic deficit, a condition afflicting the mainstream political institutions of many Western polities. Their research evidence shows that parliaments are locked into a parliamentary model of democracy that prevents a more informative, political, knowledge-developing and activist approach to relationships with citizens. Three findings, the first related to the rapid reduction of active party memberships since the 1950's; second regarding lower electoral turnouts and the third about the underlying condition of reduced public trust in politicians and institutions of government, stress the phenomenon of citizen disengagement with conventional politics. The research findings on voluntary organizations, found attachment to the development of the characteristics of strong democracy. It follows from the evidence presented here that those cyberoriented citizens are more likely to find democratic stimulation from the voluntary sector than from the time-honored institution of parliament. Those citizens will thereby further contribute to the simultaneous decline in democratic importance of parliament and the rise of voluntary sector democracy.