With the Chinese government engaged more and more in the use of information and communication technologies in public administration, particularly in the realm of provision of services, Schlaeger (public administration, Sichuan U., China) explores the question of how e-government affects power relations in Chinese local government operations. Seeking the answer in a case study of e-government adoption and implementation in local government in Chengdu as approached through a critical realist epistemology, he focuses on the social mechanisms through which power relations are reproduced and changed. He examines the internal power relations of "informatization offices" inside the government, one-stop-shopping and urban management public service programs of Chengdu, and concrete service production in business licensing and road repairs, thus providing coverage of power relations on an individual level between street-level bureaucrats and their superiors and on an organizational level between different government agencies. Annotation ©2013 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
This book looks at how information and communication technology and e-government influences power relations in public administration in China. It highlights the role of technology in combating corruption, and clarifies the interplay between ideas, institutions and technologies in shaping the foundation for organisational change. Using fieldwork based case studies, the book provides an incisive view into the working processes of the Chinese administration previously inaccessible to research. It challenges the high expectations for the transformative potential of information technology, and is a valuable contribution to the debate on Chinese reforms.
