A Sociology of Digital Government: How Has Citizens' Experience of the State Been Transformed?
A Sociology of Digital Government: How Has Citizens' Experience of the State Been Transformed?
Wednesday, 9 July 2025: 13:00-14:45
Location: FSE036 (Faculty of Education Sciences (FSE))
WG10 Digital Sociology (host committee) Language: English
In recent years, many countries around the world have been pursuing process of “digitalisation” of their governments and bureaucratic administration (Dunleavy et al. 2006, Margetts and Dunleavy, 2013). This process which has been promoted by a number of international institutions, has the stated aim of making the state more efficient while mending the gap between citizens and institutions. However, to date little attention has been paid to how this transformation of the state apparatus has practically impacted citizens’ relationship with the state, their everyday experience of and views on public institutions. This stems from the fact that, to date, the discourse of digital government, and the manifold recommendations made by various international institutions has not been accompanied by the development of a "sociology of digital government", exploring the concrete outcomes that the process of digital transformation has had on the life of citizens. Furthermore, there has been little discussion of the contradictions of this process and the way in which - while making public services more efficient for some citizens - digitalisation of government bureaucracy and public services may end up entrenching the marginalisation of others, exacerbating the effects of digital divide (Ragnedda and Muschert, 2013). To address this host of issues, this panel invites contributions analysing the ways in which citizens interact with and respond to digital services. It welcomes both country-specific case studies, and more general and theoretical interventions from different countries and world regions.
Session Organizer:
Oral Presentations
Distributed Papers