Search results

This paper offers a constructivist theory of governance. It begins by challenging rational choice and institutionalist accounts for neglecting meanings. If we are to take meanings seriously, we need to allow for the constructed nature of governance -- governance depends on concepts that are themselves in part products of wider webs of belief. The paper then argues, first, that constructivism is compatible with various forms of realism, and, second, that constructivism is strengthened by recognition of situated agency. Finally, the paper identifies the kind of aggregate concepts associated with this type of constructivism. Adapted from the source document.

A review essay on books by (1) T. Christensen & P. Laegreid [Eds], Transcending New Public Management: The Transformation of Public Sector Reforms (Aldershot, Ashgate, 2007); (2) M. Hill & P. Hupe, Implementing Public Policy (London: Sage, 2008); (3) E. C. Page & B. Jenkins, Policy Bureaucracy: Government with a Cast of Thousands (Oxford: Oxford U Press, 2005); (4) E. Sorenson & J. Torfing, Theories of Democratic Network Governance (Basingstoke: Palgrave, 2007); & (5) F. Vibert, The Rise of the Unelected: Democracy and the New Separation of Powers (Cambridge: Cambridge U Press, 2007).

The aim of the study was to identify the legal mechanisms for the establishment of e-government and the development of e-governance from the perspective of international law and national legislation of countries where the level of e-governance is very high. Empirical and theoretical methods of scientific knowledge, as well as the comparative analysis were used for a comprehensive coverage of the research topic. It is found that the community-oriented principles are the basis for the functioning of e-government with a view to the digital transformation values. The establishment of digital government in different countries with a very high level of e-governance has its own peculiarities related to the status of the national legal framework, institutional capacity and economic development, information policy and information security. It was established that the e-governance should be improved by eliminating the digital gap, raising the level of digital literacy, creating a single competent authority to regulate public e-governance policy, introducing a network system of access to e-government services, and establishing a system for training civil servants on the provision of electronic services. Further research on e-governance may be focused on follow-up study and argumentation in order to determine effective legal tools of its regulation.