Connecting eGovernment to real government : the failure of the UN eParticipation index

• eGovernment rankings are increasingly important as they guide countries’ focus of their efforts. Hence indexes must not just measure features of web sites but also accurately indicate underlying government processes. eGovernment rankings are in a process of maturation in that direction, moving from purely measuring web sites to assessing use and government qualities. One such measurement is the UN eParticipation index, intended to measure how well governments connect to their citizens. This paper analyzes the quality of the index by validating it against other indexes of government-citizen relations qualities, democracy, internet filtering, and transparency. Results: The relation between the index and democracy and participation is non-existent. Countries which are authoritarian or obstruct citizen internet use by filtering can score high on eParticipation by window-dressing their webs. We suggest that the eParticipation index includes an element of reality check and propose ways to do that.

Ämnesord

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Medie- och kommunikationsvetenskap -- Mänsklig interaktion med IKT (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Media and Communications -- Human Aspects of ICT (hsv//eng)

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Annan samhällsvetenskap -- Övrig annan samhällsvetenskap (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Other Social Sciences -- Other Social Sciences not elsewhere specified (hsv//eng)

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Data- och informationsvetenskap -- Systemvetenskap, informationssystem och informatik (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Computer and Information Sciences -- Information Systems (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Informatics

Informatik

Publikations- och innehållstyp

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