Theory and Methods in Digital Government
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Item Digital Citizenship in the Institution Swedish Public Libraries: A Discursive Approach(2025-01-07) Kaharevic, Ahmed; Iacobaeus, Helena; Gustafsson, MarianaThis paper maps and unpacks the discursive construction of digital citizenship within the institution of public libraries in Sweden, situating it within the broader context of the nation’s digital government. By adopting a discursive approach, the paper responds to the scholarly call for nuanced theoretical insights into the evolving digital citizenship field and reflects upon how an analysis on digital citizenship can further our understanding of digital government. Data sources are the Swedish National Digitalization Strategy, the Swedish Library Act, and library staff interviews. Findings show active citizenship as a central idea in the discourse, placing high demands on individuals. In contrast to previous research, this study also finds ideas of a more inclusive citizenship. Finally, the findings show conflicts and ongoing negotiation of what digital citizenship, and thus digital citizens, ought to be, and point towards a need of deepening and questioning our understanding of digital government as inclusive.Item The Value of e-Government for Fragile States: A Scoping Review(2025-01-07) Sagar, AbdinassirThe concept of fragile state, characterized as having ineffective authority, weakened capacity and diminished legitimacy, has emerged as a critical policy challenge in the international development agenda. At the same time, governments worldwide are increasingly using information and communication technologies (ICT) to modernize their administrative processes and how they deliver services to their citizens. However, there remains a gap in understanding the value of e-government for fragile states. This study reviews the existing e-government research to derive the value of e-government for fragile states in addition to conceptually defining fragile states first. The findings reveal that e-government has the potential to enhance the state’s authority, improve the government’s capacity to operate efficiently and to deliver services, and to revive government legitimacy. The study concludes that there is a lack of research in critical aspects of fragile states such as political control and also a lack of research coverage in the context of fragile states.Item Introduction to the Minitrack on Theory and Methods in Digital Government(2025-01-07) Busch, Peter; Cordella, Antonio; Roszczynska-Kurasinska, Magdalena; Wihlborg, ElinItem Conceptualizing the Roles of Information and Digital Technologies in Digital Global Climate Governance(2025-01-07) Engvall, ToveDigital governance research has primarily focused on national or local settings, but as societal challenges are increasingly global in nature, it motivates greater attention as to how digital governance may enhance global governance (Engvall, 2024). Empirical research has shown how digital global governance initiatives may contribute to climate governance (Engvall, 2021; Engvall & Flak, 2022a, 2022b). However, there is a need for a deeper theoretical understanding of the ways in which information and digital technologies can support climate governance, in order to effectively direct digital governance initiatives. Information and digital technologies have significant roles in global climate governance. The core of the climate treaty, the Paris Agreement, is a reporting mechanism, i.e., the Enhanced Transparency Framework (ETF). The information generated through the ETF can be used for various purposes, and digital services can be developed to support different governance activities. From a structuration theory perspective, this paper discusses and conceptualizes the roles of information and digital technologies in digital global climate governance. The paper articulates how interpretative, facilitative, and normative roles of information and digital technologies can support understanding, action and accountability, and proposes this as the basis for further research and development of digital services.