E-governance : styles of political judgement in the information age polity

Annotation The e-governance revolution is said to be changing everything, but will all the modelling tools, electronic meeting management systems and online consultations really change political judgement in policy formation? Using case studies from local and federal government in the US and Europe, Perri 6 examines these claims and presents a new theory of how policy makers use and reject information and do and don't trust each other with information in using the new tools, before analyzing the implications for democracy The e-governance revolution is said to be changing everything in the public sector. However, will all the modelling tools, electronic meeting management systems and online consultations really change political judgment in policy formulation? Using new case studies from local and national government in the USA, the UK and Europe, E-Governance examines these claims in detail. Perri 6 presents a distinctive account of what political judgment actually is, considered as an organisational process. He then presents a new theory of how policy-makers use and reject information and do and do not trust each other with information in using the new tools, before analysing the implications for democracy. The book concludes by identifying some practical ways forward for policy-makers Front Matter....Pages i-xii Introduction....Pages 1-14 The Scope of E-governance....Pages 15-23 Examples and Initiatives....Pages 24-55 The Forward March of E-governance Halted?....Pages 56-75 What Difference could E-governance make? Fears, Aspirations and Theories....Pages 76-85 Conducting Policy Judgment through Information Technologies: Three Cases....Pages 86-111 Policy Making: the Work of Governance....Pages 112-128 The Organisation of Policy Makers and the Use of E-governance Tools....Pages 129-156 Institutional Styles and E-governance Tools....Pages 157-183 Ways Forward....Pages 184-208 Conclusion: Technology, Institutions and Political Judgment....Pages 209-211 Back Matter....Pages 212-238