E-governance and Citizen Engagement
New Directions in Public Administration
- Sangita Dhal - Faculty of Political Science, Kalindi College, University of Delhi
Situating the content within the ambit of new public management, liberalization, good governance and globalization, the book examines the concept of e-governance as a citizen-centric task of the government where technology works as a bridge between the state and the individual. It extensively probes into various dimensions of governance and innovative techniques adopted by states in modern times. It also attempts to address a host of issues and challenges of governance which were exacerbated due to the onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The overarching argument of this textbook is that electronic governance has ensured good governance by adopting information and communication technologies coupled with sound managerial practices, making it more citizen-oriented and responsive.
Key Features:
• Offers a compact analysis of emerging themes such as e-learning, e-commerce, e-health, geographical information systems and cyber security
• Provides a blend of normative and empirical case studies, and relevant examples
• Includes robust pedagogical tools such as key themes, learning objectives, case studies, charts, model questions and web links
Supplements
This textbook is a valuable contribution to our knowledge about an innovation which has made the task of governing more efficient and effective and provided a new avenue for citizen engagement. Dr Dhal does an excellent job of setting up the problem—through both a thorough review of the literature and a sound treatment of the peculiarities of the Indian experience in digital governance. The actual analysis has applications which extend from India to other lower-middle income countries. In this respect, this textbook makes a major contribution to its field of enquiry. Anyone interested in comprehending the new ways of getting things done, especially by promoting the notions of inclusion and engagement in governance, should be delighted to find this textbook an indispensable read.
The advent of information and communications technologies (ICTs) has dramatically transformed the landscape on the discourses around technology and society. With both the promises and expectations around what these new ICTs can deliver, governance systems have kept reaching out to ICTs not only as a tool but also increasingly as a panacea for managing the deficiencies of governance. In such a scenario, ‘e-governance’ has become a much-bandied term. Tie all of this to ‘rural development’, and one finds that addressing challenges in our rural scene, where 70 per cent of our population live, gets very complicated. Sangita Dhal, in her book, not only gives us a good understanding of and deep insights on ‘e-governance’ in general but also critically juxtaposes the challenges of rural development with the promises of ‘e-governance’.
Given the speed of technological change and its pervasive effect across all aspects of society at both local and global levels, this era of the ‘Fourth Industrial Revolution’ has empowered many and enabled large-scale social, economic and political shifts, and simultaneously highlighted the continued marginalization of groups hitherto excluded from gains in the social, developmental and political arenas. In this comprehensive volume, Dr Dhal addresses the key role and enormous potential of e-governance, structured and shaped by these ICT developments, to bridge the gap between institutions and those they are supposed to benefit. Her thorough discussion takes the reader through the contexts, frameworks and processes through which e-governance has emerged as a pivotal concept for the purpose of delivering public goods and services.