e-Government, e-Society and Jordan: Strategy, Theory, Practice and Assessment Michael Blakemore And Roderic Dutton

e-Societies and e-Governments Expectation is they will lead to improvements in areas such as governance, democracy, efficiency, and economic competitiveness. e-Government strategies are based in expectations that process will lead to outcomes…enabling a nation to participate in the process of globalization rather than to be subservient to globalization.

Theoretical expectations Government to citizen (G2C) Government to government (G2G) Government to business (G2B) A spaceless and inclusive society with friction of distance no longer a problem

Resistance in the Third World Just more colonialism? Power struggles

Democracy and Locality Annexation of local identity? Global language. “…if e-democracy is to develop into an integral part of representative democracy…e-democracy should not be seen as a recipe for direct democracy or techno-populism.” (Hanserd Society 2002)

Education, children, gender, and ethics In Jordan, illiteracy up to 15% and 24% in rural and urban areas respectively Children politicized rather than objectivized in new media? How to participate in e-commerce?

Education, children, gender, and ethics Turkish women’s names Turkish women do not trust Internet relationships Access to taboo

Community and Culture Technology as a means, not an end. A new, scary global audience Outcomes and planning Distance is different than PLACE

Policy, Rights, and Obligations E-Government mantra of “joined up” and “integration” "The future of privacy will be determined not by the inherent nature of the Internet, but by social choices about how much privacy we as a society think it is reasonable to demand"

Security and Trust Transition from physical information to identity systems Two-thirds don’t feel safe Citizens need to feel safe with the government

Benchmark Targets Emerging: A government Web presence is established through a few independent official sites. Enhanced: Content and information is updated with greater regularity. Interactive: Users can download forms, contact officials, and make appointments and requests. Transactional: Users can actually pay for services or conduct financial transactions online. Seamless: Total integration of e-functions and services across administrative and departmental boundaries.

Conclusion The world is uncertain Can’t turn back the clock Cultural change and cultural identity Reducing cultural myth instead of enforcing radical cultural change Developing skills

Conclusion “Without a clear research agenda linked to the strategy, and which focuses not just on the nation-level measures against targets, but also involves locally-based survey and ethnographic study, any e-Government initiative will run the risk of evolving less by access to useful and relevant information and more by political expediency”.