E-Government as a New Frontier for Legal Theory

Abstract

E-government has the potential to change fundamentally the organization of governments, and the governance practices used in relations with citizens and other governments. Legal theory is clearly affected by these changes. Yet there is no rush to publish on e-government in leading legal theory journals, and there is no visible surge in student demand for courses in e-government. Just as only some areas of governments in developed states have taken advantage of new information communication technologies, so only some areas of legal theory have engaged e-government. Issues in Internet governance and personal privacy dominate legal theory’s engagement with e-government, while e-engagement of citizens plays an increasingly important yet still limited role in governments’ interaction with citizens. Yet there are signs that this gentle pace may soon change, as leading jurisdictions approach completion of the first wave of service transformation at the same time as concerns regarding a digital divide recede under the growth of access to new information communication technologies. New opportunities for e-government may soon make e-government’s progress revolutionary rather than evolutionary, and legal theory will be forced to keep pace.