Exploring Citizen-Centric E-Government Using a Democratic Theories Framework

Abstract

In this chapter, the authors draw on Scott's work on e-government and democratic theories to examine how governments engage their citizens online. The three theories they focus on—representative, pluralist, and direct—are the most prominent in the democratic theory literature. Using data from 200 U.S. local governments, the authors examine two research questions: What factors drive governments to employ each theory? Which theory predominates in the implementation of e-government? The assumption is that providing answers to these two questions will help set the stage for future research linking e-government and democratic theory. The authors also explore this theory in e-government amidst the rise of m-government, whereby users access e-government services via mobile devices. They suggest as well what governments can do to move forward with their e-government and m-government efforts based on these theories.