E-Government and the Rise of the Information Age: Economy, Society and Culture

Abstract

The application of information and communication technology for improving governance by enhancing governments role in service delivery, public administration, and promotion of participatory democracy has been gaining momentum in many parts of the world. Electronic government encompasses all government roles and activities, shaped by information and communications technologies (ICTs). Going well beyond analogies to e-commerce, it encompasses the four domains of governance and public administration: The states economic and social programs, its relationships with the citizen and the rule of law (e-democracy), its internal operations and its relationship with the international environment. E-government builds on three evolving forces: Technology, management concepts and government itself. It has given rise to several phenomena that are redefining the public sector environment, including the International Institute of Administrative Sciences. Four aspects of e-government have lasting impacts on public administration: Citizen-centered service, information as a public resource, new skills and working relationships, and accountability and management models. The challenges of e-government are even more acute in developing countries, although it also offers solutions. Public administration in all countries requires new thinking and leadership to ensure that e-government realizes its full potential. The emergence of electronic government - both in practice and in concept - has been one of the important developments in public administration in the past ten years. It has introduced new vocabulary, theoretical models and linkages between disciplines and between theory and practice. By its nature, e-government is an evolving phenomenon. Only provisional judgments can be made about the relationship between e-government and public administration, and it is a risky venture indeed to predict e-governments future direction and scope. This article looks at e-government in a comparative public administration context. There is no generally accepted definition of e-government, so the article begins by proposing a description of what it is and what it concerns. It then reviews how e-government has arisen as a topic for comparative discussion and looks at some of the phenomena associated with e-government, including emerging institutions. This is followed by an analysis of how e-government relates to public administration, including in the development context. The article concludes with some reflections on the importance to be attached to e-government and on where it is headed.

Keywords: e-Government, Public Administration, ICTs, e-Democracy, e-Commerce

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