The State, Democracy and the Limits of New Public Management: Exploring Alternative Models of E- Government

The point of departure of our analysis on the evolving role of the state in contemporary society is offered by the innovations introduced by e-government within the democratic, administrative and bureaucratic processes of the modern state. A vast literature on this topic presents e-government as a great opportunity to innovate the business of government, for instance by the re-introduction of New Public Management (NPM) ideas. On the other hand, this paper argues that a blind juxtaposition of such a model of state governance overlooks the potential to support innovation not only in the reshaping of government services, but also to increase social welfare and create more democratic forms of governance. We critically evaluate the model of governance underpinning the development of e-government associated with NPM, and ultimately present an alternative approach – an alternative problematisation – one appropriate for the conceptualization of ICT that serves the goals of state governance.