12 August 2002

eDemocracy in a Changing World

by Thomas B Riley, Executive Director and Chair, Commonwealth Centre for Electronic Governance

The application of eGovernment is beginning to change, in some small ways, the traditional hierarchal forms of government. To deliver public services electronically, new types of interactions are often needed between departments or agencies, which are in turn changing the internal dynamics of government. The rise of electronic democracy - or eDemocracy - is part of this e-evolution which is also altering the relationship between government and citizen. Much has been said and written about this phenomenon but the question remains: will eDemocracy change the nature of citizen interaction with government and, more importantly, the political process? And, if so, how dramatic will this shift be?

eGovernment is rapidly developing in many countries, especially in the developed world. The UK is taking the lead in developing strategies for e-participation and e-voting, as evidenced in the Government's recent consultation paper, In the Service of Democracy. While this paper represents an important first step, it is actually just the beginning of the wide potential of eDemocracy.

eDemocracy in the Future: Will We See Significant Change?

The OECD Public Administration (PUMA) Group, that is conducting extensive studies on eGovernment and eDemocracy, has articulated the three main components needed for online dealings between government and the citizen. These are: Information, participation and consultation.

Many governments are pledging to move in this direction but progress towards results has been slow. The precepts are easy to articulate but attaining desired results is proving to be more difficult to achieve. Part of this can be explained through the hierarchal nature of organisations and the current role of representative government in democratic societies. External groups and individuals, on an international scale, are working to change this dynamic. But governments are moving at a slower and different pace than groups and citizens who are using the Internet to influence the evolution of government programmes, policy and legislative implementations.

Historically, the relationship between government and citizen has been a top-down affair with those in elected authority controlling the agenda. The advent of interactive technologies has seen the nature of the citizen begin to take on a new shape and form.

The potential of eGovernment to empower the citizen has been the subject of much discussion. New Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) offer access to worldwide information, increased capacity to communicate and interact online, as well as a host of other rich experiences to individuals with the means to access them. Governments around the world have developed many programmes to cross the digital divides that exist in their own countries and stimulate their economies through grants, investment and other mechanisms. But as to empowerment of the citizen having an impact on government or the political process, there is still a long way to go before the dream and ideal of eDemocracy is reached.

Tools are being developed for online consultations between the government, citizen, action groups and business. But the results are limited. There is much discussion and interaction between groups and citizens and, to a certain extent, between government and the citizenry. However eDemocracy is evolving within society more on the level of group to group and peer-to-peer interactions with participants using ICTs to enhance and better their lives. The latter is a form of eDemocracy that has minimal influence from government, except to the degree that people might use online or offline government information to further their work. Community and online groups work well when these people are driven by individual interest, no matter what the cause.

eDemocracy, in relation to government and how we are governed, if and when it takes hold as a mass movement will have to be driven by a large section of the population who firstly, want to participate actively in government at some level and secondly, are willing to see a new form of democracy evolve.

The change will depend on the degree to which people want to be more engaged in government and on the emergence of new political thinkers who will think through to the next evolution of democracy.

ICTs are putting a certain amount of power, albeit a small one to date, in the hands of the citizen at large. eDemocracy is alive and vibrant, through citizens and interest groups, in many jurisdictions around the world, but in terms of government budgets, funding allocated to democracy programmes has been limited compared to the billions spent on eGovernment. National administrations and large corporations control the current eDemocracy proposals on a local, state/provincial, national and international scale. The latter is promoting particular technologies, especially for online voting, but also evolving technologies that will better serve the needs of the citizens coming to government web sites.

Through the new technologies being developed, a non-linear world of time and distance is merging in people's minds, and the world is being seen in new dimensions not known before in our history. It is this potential that will drive the change in our society. It is not necessarily because there is a younger generation coming up who are integrated with the technology and have adapted it with ease. Rather, it is the potential of what these technologies can do that holds within the minds of so many the kernel of change. We have only began to realize the true dimension and scale of where democracy might go.

Thomas Riley is the the co-Founder, Chair of the Board and Chief Executive of the Commonwealth Centre for Electronic Governance [http://www.electronicgov.net], a think-tank set up under a Commonwealth Secretariat programme in London. He is also the President of Riley Information Services [http://www.rileyis.com], a consultant and advisor specialising in national and international IT policy development, and a Visiting Professor of Law and Technology at the University of Glasgow. Throughout his twenty-eight years as an access, privacy and information technology professional, Mr Riley has written numerous articles and opinion pieces published around the world, organises national and international conferences on a wide range of information technology and policy issues, and produces specialised reports for public and private sector clients. For further information he can be contacted at Tom@Rileyis.com

Thomas Riley's independent opinion appears courtesy of Prospect - a recruitment consultancy committed to 'enabling better futures' and sourcing the people to drive eGovernment. For further information go to http://www.prospectmsl.com/ or email info@prospectmsl.com