Electronic government: Towards e-democracy or democracy at risk?

Abstract

Electronic government (e-Government) is a research field that studies the use of information and communication technology (ICT) in the public sector. Such initiatives are often associated with promises of transformational government, which is more efficient and utilizes modern technology to increase democratic engagement. However, research shows that several e-Government initiatives fail to deliver the promised benefits and attract a large portion of citizens. Some researchers argue that many initiatives have been driven by technology rather than by the core values of government, which has resulted in weakened democracy. Against this backdrop, the purpose of this paper is to achieve a greater understanding of risk in the e-Government field. Through a literature study, research papers were analyzed and divided into categories based on their unit of analysis, and ontological and epistemological properties. Four themes were identified in the material: IT security, user adoption, implementation barriers, and policy and democracy. This paper concludes by suggesting these themes would provide a suitable point of departure for a risk management framework in e-Government. Thus, future research should explore ways to converge these different strands of literature in multi-disciplinary research.