Will new information technologies, especially the Internet, bring freedom and democracy to authoritarian China? This study argues that the Internet has brought about new dynamics of socio-political changes in China, and that state power and social forces are transforming in Internet-mediated public space. Its findings are fourfold. First, the Internet empowers both the state and society. The Internet has played an important role in facilitating political liberalization, and made government more open, transparent, and accountable. Second, the Internet produces enormous effects which are highly decentralized and beyond the reach of state power. Third, the Internet has created a new infrastructure for the state and society in their engagement with (and disengagement from) each other. Fourth, the Internet produces a recursive relationship between state and society. The interactions between the state and society over the Internet end up reshaping both the state and society.
Recommendations
Digital Governance and Individuals' Empowerment: a Conceptual Framework and Some Preliminary Results
ICEGOV '17: Proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Theory and Practice of Electronic GovernanceAdoption of information and communication technologies (ICT) in governance contexts is considered empowering for governments and the citizens. Digital governance aims at transforming internal processes, structures and working practices leading to ...
Individual Empowerment through Digital Governance: Proposing an Assessment Framework for India
ICEGOV '17: Proceedings of the Special Collection on eGovernment Innovations in IndiaAdoption of information and communication technologies (ICT) in governance contexts is considered empowering for governments and citizens. Digital Governance aims at transforming internal processes, structures and working practices leading to greater ...
The Use of Open Government Data to Citizen Empowerment
ICEGOV '15-16: Proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Theory and Practice of Electronic GovernanceTo this date, governments, civil society organizations, and private sector representatives consider Open Government Data as a building block for open government, as they see it as a key enabler of improved service delivery, transparency, and public ...