Understanding E-Government in Europe: Issues and Challenges

This volume critically explores the contentions in the emerging debate surrounding new media technologies and the extent to which they are challenging traditional political and government models.

Examining a range of citizen/government interactions which together form e-government in different contexts, this book assesses the potential of new media technologies to facilitate new institutional patterns for governance and participation, as experienced primarily, but not only, across Europe. Analysing a range of challenges spanning from those of a technological and conceptual nature to those of a more political and legal nature, the authors scrutinise the central policies at governmental and organisational levels and consider the following questions:



Is society driving or responding to e-government and is it ready to cope with it?


What implications does e-government have for the power/democracy relationship?


Is the technology right for e-government? What is needed to ensure government services are delivered optimally?


How is e-government perceived and is it trusted?


How are the sensitive issues of identity, privacy and social inclusion dealt with?


How are management and safety dealt with when one considers issues such as activism, cyberterrorism, biometrics, and new implications for international relations?


This comprehensive text will be of interest to students and scholars of public policy, politics, media and communication studies, sociology, law and European studies. It will also offer insights of relevance to practitioners and policy-makers in regional, national, and transnational governance, reform and innovation.

Paul G. Nixon is Senior Lecturer of Political Science at The Hague University of Applied Sciences, the Netherlands.
Vassiliki N. Koutrakou is Director of the Centre for Research in European Studies (CREST) at the University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK.
Rajash Rawal is a Lecturer in European Politics at Academy of European Studies & Communication Management, at The Hague University of Applied Sciences, the Netherlands.

Part 1: The Fundamentals of e-Government in Europe 1. The Fifth Estate: Democratic Social Accountability through the Emerging Network of Networks William H. Dutton 2. Delivering Citizen-Centric Public Services Through Technology in Europe-Facilitated Organisational Change Michael Blakemore, Neil Mcdonald, Nicola Hall and Rasa Jucuite 3. e-Government Beyond i2010: European e-Government current Challenges and Future Scenarios Cristiano Codagnone and David Osimo Part 2: Conceptual Challenges 4. Electronic Government and Government Transformation: Technical Interactivity, Political Influence and Citizen Return Filipe Montargil 5. e-Government, Customers, and Citizens Michael Margolis and Gerson Moreno-Riaño 6. Accountability in the Context of e-Government Dimitra I. Petrakaki 7. Addressing the Real World of Public Consultation: Whither e-Consultation? David O’Donnell, Paul Mccusker, G. Honor Fagan, Simon Stephens, D. R. Newman, John Morison and Michael Murray Part 3: e-government in Practice 8. Online Dispute Resolution, e-Justice and Web 2.0 Joseph Savirimuthu 9. Identity Management in E-government Service Provision: Towards New Modes of Government and Citizenship Miriam Lips, John Taylor and Joe Organ 10. Biometrics: From Biometricised Borders to Securitising Non-territorial Space Juliet Lodge 11. The Merging of Health and Technology for Europe’s Future: Identifying Obstacles and Achieving a Successful eHealth Implementation Savvas Savvides and Vassiliki N. Koutrajou 12. Overcoming Barriers to Innovation in e-Government: The Swiss Way Gianluca Misuraca, Pierre Rossel and Olivier Glassey 13. Elected Politicians and their ‘Tastes’ For e-Democracy: Experiences from the Netherlands, United Kingdom and Norway Arthur Edwards Part 4: Perceptions, Subversions, and New Challenges to e-Government 14. Challengers to Traditional E-Government (Non-governmental Actors) Paul. G. Nixon, Antje Grebner and Maria Laura Sudulich 15. Responding to Cyberterror – A Failure to Firewall Freedoms? Rajash Rawal 16. Ministry of Truth? Perceptions of Trust in e-Government Paul G. Nixon 17. Using e-Government for Communication and Co-Ordination among Regional International Organizations – Preliminary Insights from Nascent Interactions Vassiliki N. Koutrakou. Conclusions Paul G. Nixon, Rajash Rawal and Vassiliki N. Koutrakou