Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and Government

1996

This paper explores the claims of technology's ability to enhance citizen participation, with particular attention focused on the Internet. The claims are grounded within the larger context of political theory, specifically the tension between representative and direct forms of democracy. Sections of the paper are:

In this article we seek to revisit what the term ‘technopolitical’ means for democratic politics in our age. We begin by tracing how the term was used and then transformed through various and conflicting adaptations of ICTs (Information and Communication Technologies) in governmental and civil organizations and grassroots movements. Two main streams can be distinguished in academic literature: studies about internet-enhanced politics (labelled as e- government) and politics 2.0 that imply the facilitation of existing practices such as e-voting, e-campaigning and e-petitioning. The second stream of the internet-enabled perspective builds on the idea that ICTs are essential for the organization of transformative, contentious politics, citizen participation and deliberative processes. Under a range of labels, studies have often used ideas of the technopolitical in an undefined or underspecified manner for describing the influence of digital technologies on their scope of investigation. After critically reviewing and categorizing the main concepts used in the literature to describe ICT-based political performances, we construct a conceptual model of technopolitics oriented at two contra-rotating developments: Centralization vs. Decentralization. Within a schema consisting of the five dimensions of context, scale and direction, purpose, synchronization and actors we will clarify these developments and structure informal and formal ways of political practices. We explain the dimensions using real-world examples to illustrate the unique characteristics of each technopolitical action field and the power dynamics that influence them.

While the Internet is often touted as a revolutionary technology, it might be noted that democratic institutions have witnessed no digital revolution through the Internet. This observation leads this chapter to argue that the field of e-democracy has generally failed to live up to its own reformist rhetoric. It argues that instead of reforming government processes through technology, e-democracy projects have tended to focus either on lowering the costs and increasing the efficiency of existing political processes or on analysing the civic participation that occurs outside of purpose-built e-democracy platforms. The chapter suggests that this lack of attention to the Internet's potential for systemic change in formal political institutions has little normative impact on the democratization of society and may even re-enforce, rather than challenge, the sociopolitical status quo. Further, it suggests that the current approach of e-democracy risks normalizing the Internet to the norms and expectations of the offline world. To elucidate this argument, this chapter overviews both the general trend of e-democracy projects and criticisms of those projects. Finally, the chapter proposes a more radical vision of e-democracy that, it suggests, would usher a larger potential for democratization. This more radical vision of e-democracy consists of recognizing the attributes of the Internet that transcend the limits of the analogue world and applying these to democracy. Such an approach would open the path for envisaging new political processes and systems, allowing the field of e-democracy to live up to its own rhetoric, and affording society the means to address multiple of the centuries-old problems faced by democracy.

The new ICTs, especially e-participation tools and techniques, are promoted by different authorities and policymakers as an invaluable feature of contemporary society and conceived as improving society. This paper addresses e-participation as a governmental technology of citizenship through which the citizen's involvement and collaboration in policymaking and other political processes is called upon and enhanced. E-participation is interpreted as a way of managing human conduct at a collective and individual level that has provided a process for rearranging the exercise of political power.

Representative democracy remains essentially a representative government that was created precisely to avoid all the citizens to participate directly in political decision-making. Implementation of direct participation’s instruments in the form of e-democracy creates a conflict within this government, a conflict that can be solved only by a renewal of representative democracy concept, even its substitution by another idea committed to reconciling representation and participation. This paper aims a reflection on a legal concept of government capable of integrating e-democracy. Such integration highlights the interdependent character of the link between democracy and human rights that are exposed to very new threats in the digital era. The possibility to introduce e-democracy is conditional upon the reinforced protection of such digital rights and freedoms as well as recognition of new rights based on personal self-determination.

tripleC: Communication, Capitalism & Critique. Open Access Journal for a Global Sustainable Information Society, 2011

In this paper I discuss a definition of citizenship for better understanding and analyses of political participations in ICT societies. To achieve this I approach the topic from a comprehensive understanding of developments in society and technology and how they mutually reinforce each other. Discussions of citizenship are concerned with macro-perspectives, combining empirical studies of how society and political participation is changing, connected to normative visions of the good society and how it should be structured; hence citizenship studies are already transdisciplinary. In the article I propose and understanding of citizenship as the participation and action upon shared meanings on issues of the organization of society. Citizenship is enacted in political communities; ensembles of people addressing the organization of society and making sense of this address in a similar way, and at the same time constructing and renegotiating values and norms out of which the authority of t...

Telematics and Informatics, 2006

The use of technology is an important factor in the organisation of our society. When we speak of a model for the future society we often use the term the information society or the networked society. Information society and network society are not new concepts but have existed for many years . The reason that these definitions are on the agenda today is the dramatic development in information technology and telecommunications technology -these two technologies that are decisive for dealing with information and dissemination of information in networks. The use of these terms underlines the importance that these two technologies have for our society.

The era of modern democracy initially emerged in the 17 th and early 18 th centuries and was connoted as liberal in forms of ideas. With the passage of time and changing political roles, the idea of democracy has developed the demand to be studied, structured, and revived. However, the concept of electronic democracy (e-democracy) is considered a new democratic practice and the result of new information technologies. A multi-dimensional design and detailed framework are needed to revitalize the democratic process from the core, through which the complete efficacy of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) can be utilized. As the concept of edemocracy is still maturing, the aspects and attributes of e-democracy have not yet been specified in detail. On the other side, the wide-ranging and extensive concept of 'information society' is prevailing. As information society suggests new social associations, similarly, e-democracy recommends renewed citizen practices. The preconditions for building firm foundations of edemocracy includes factors such as conscientiously designed integrated software systems, global digital identities, powerful judiciary as well as privacy of data. This research seeks to provide an overview of the mechanism of e-democracy, its limitations, and the potentialities of technology. Furthermore, it analyses how e-democracy can be used to transform the organisational structure of a state and recommends how successful evaluation of technology-orientated plans and policies can be carried out.

2007

Electronic democracy' is a concept with a relatively long history. It has been a central feature of the technological Utopias since the 1960s. Today, the trend is spreading worldwide, as public funding is made available for the exploration of the potential of new technologies to provide new channels of access to political information and participation in decision-making. Nevertheless, whereas e-democracy in Western nations is a tool for resolving the perceived crisis of liberal democracies, in the developing countries it is a tool to build democracy. This assumption is clearly important in the action plans and policies of International Organizations (World Bank, OECD, United Nations) which have assumed a leadership role in the reform of political institutions. This paper will focus on theoretical and methodological issues, such as the prevalent meaning(s) of e-government and e-democracy and their ideological roots in the context of political development.