E-Government Effect on Participatory Democracy in the Maghreb: Indirect Effect and Government-Led Participation

Abstract

The evolution of the concept of democracy throughout decades of theory and practice has led to the firm understanding that democracy is progressive in terms of thought and practice. An important feature of democracy is the ability of individuals to discuss and participate in matters of public interest. E-government offers an opportunity for governments and citizens to engage in more deliberate practices of democracy. This paper focuses on the Maghreb region (Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia) and discusses the direct effect of e-government on participatory democracy and also the indirect effect, which is referred to as the “indirect government-led relationship” between e-government and participatory democracy. A quantitative approach was adopted, and a questionnaire was distributed using a nonprobability, judgement sampling method, which focuses on a population with specific knowledge and expertise. A total of 702 answers were collected. The results show that e-government positively affects participatory democracy directly and also indirectly through increasing corruption control, transparency, and accountability.