What is e-Management

The use of Internet technology to further citizen participation is believed to hold great promise to enhance democratic governance by allowing citizens to access public information and interact with government officials, promoting better accountability of public officials to citizens through efficient and convenient delivery of services, and producing fertile ground for reinvigorated civil society (Barber, 1984; La Port et al., 2000; Scavo & Yuhang Shi, 1999). Empirical evidence suggests that some of the promises of bridging the gap among governments and citizens through enhanced interaction between citizens and government, and between citizens themselves are yet to be fulfilled (Chadwick & May, 2001; the Global e-Policy and e-Government Institute and Rutgers University e-Governance Institute, 2003; Hale, Musso & Weare, 1999; Wales, Kerns, Bend & Stern,2002; West, 2001). This chapter reviews the opportunities and challenges of Internet-based citizen participation, the trend noted in the findings of some of the empirical studies and attempts to explain the reason the Internet has failed in its putative potential to bring citizens closer to their governments.