The Pennsylvania State University The Graduate School College of Communications INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND PARTICIPATORY DEMOCRACY: A CASE STUDY OF BANGALORE CITY A Thesis in Mass Communications by Veena V. Raman © 2006 Veena V. Raman Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy August, 2006 The thesis of Veena V. Raman was reviewed and approved* by the following. Dennis K. Davis Professor of Communications Thesis Co-advisor Co-chair of Committee Jorge Reina Schement Distinguished Professor of Telecommunications Studies Thesis Co-advisor Co-chair of Committee Richard D. Taylor Palmer Chair Professor of Telecommunications Studies Marybeth Oliver Professor of Communications Christopher Benner Assistant Professor of Geography, Labor Studies, and Industrial Relations John S. Nichols Professor of Communications Associate Dean for Graduate Studies and Research Head of Department of Film/Video and Media Studies *Signatures are on file in the Graduate School. ABSTRACT In a country where access to information technology is unevenly distributed, what role can technology play in promoting participatory democracy? In many developing countries, there is evidence of urban fragmentation, spatial segregation, and high costs of urban infrastructures and services. Local governments find it difficult to manage this space and satisfy the demands of their citizens. To increase their efficiency, local governments are adopting information technologies under initiatives branded as e-government. Citizens groups are seeking action spaces to solve local problems triggered by global trends and often see information and communication technologies (ICT) as part of the solution. This raises interesting questions about the role of ICTs in urban civic life in developing countries. How are ICTs used in citizen- government interactions? How does local political context influence technology use among citizens? What factors facilitate or inhibit use of ICTs in local government? Do ICTs facilitate greater citizen involvement in local government? Do they strengthen governance and deepen democracy? This research examines the impact of ICTs on the civic lives of people in Bangalore City, the information capital of India. It analyzes the e-government efforts of the local government in Bangalore, the Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BMP), and studies the efforts of Janaagraha, a citizen’s group, to facilitate participatory democracy among Bangaloreans. In this dissertation, I examine what e-government means in the context of Bangalore. To understand why only specific services are available and how people use these e-government services, I compare the visions and interpretations of ‘e-government’ from the perspectives of the officials involved and survey citizens of Bangalore city. The policy on e-government makes it clear that the government expects ICT usage to promote better service provision and facilitate democratic outreach between government and citizens. I demonstrate that there is a gap between how officials and citizens view e- government. Among officials a managerial model dominates over participatory democratic possibilities where as citizens see it as a failed effort to reach out and promote citizen involvement due to entrenched government culture, lack of committed personnel, and lack of trust. Results suggest that the democratic potential of the Internet has been marginalized. An executive-driven, "managerial" business model of citizen-government interaction has assumed dominance at the expense of participatory democratic possibilities. Efficiency concerns drive reliance on digital government in a top down process, with citizen demand not being considered an important factor. The focus has been on the ‘e’ rather than on basic governance that reaches the average citizen. To understand how information technology might help citizen participation in governance, I analyze Public Record of Operations and Finance (PROOF). This initiative is an example of how computerization of information management in local administration has helped Bangaloreans engage with their local government. The strategies through which citizens of Bangalore have been able to participate more in local government and the role ICTs have played in those strategies is examined through the related Ward Works initiative. Ward Works is an initiative that allows citizens to participate in prioritizing, monitoring and evaluating works undertaken by the local government in their wards. iii The successful PROOF and Ward Works initiatives are a case of IT interacting with the structure and process of local government in tandem with civic action. Their success can be attributed to collaboration between citizens, and between citizens, BMP officials and corporators. Their distinguishing characteristic is the civic engagement component. Greater availability of information is not a sufficient condition to promote citizen participation. Conscious efforts are necessary to highlight what information is available and how it can be useful to citizens who want to participate in governance. What are some of the findings of this research? While the state government has discouraged decentralization and sharing of power in practice, citizens groups have been able to take advantage of a simple computerization process within local government to gain more space for participation in governance. PROOF and Ward Works were successful because considerable energy was spent in mobilizing existing neighborhood organizations and resident welfare associations to generate resources locally. These initiatives indicate that community leaders who identify and engage efficient government administrators are catalysts to reform. Local government officials are intricately embedded in local social relations and will respond to community pressure if it is backed by political leaders at a higher level. Civic engagement is most successful in communities that have both strong bonding capital and key individuals who provide bridges to other groups. Strong bonding capital alone is detrimental to groups when they attempt to solve larger issues relevant to everyone in the community. While education and information seem to motivate citizen engagement, wealth does not seem to encourage collective action. It appears to encourage individuals to seek solutions on their own rather than rely on the community. The particular contribution of this research is an empirical examination of the role of ICTs in citizens’ civic and political engagement in the context of a city that serves as a technology hub in a developing country. It is clear that the role of information technology in the political engagement process can vary across governments. In Bangalore, the IT capital of India and information hub of Karnataka, digital divide is still severe enough to make traditional forms of IT use in the governance process, such as email, online consultation and feedback generation, impractical. IT is a factor that facilitates transparency and allows administrators to be accountable if they choose to share information with the citizens. IT is still not the key factor that encourages citizen participation in governance. However, IT can alter information flows that can be used by citizens to participate in governance. India is currently undergoing changes in government philosophies and is becoming more responsive to governance with citizens participation. Innovative information technology use could facilitate citizen participation. This research highlights that changes need to occur in all areas: within government, among citizens and in the attitudes of all stakeholders towards the role of information technology and its innovative uses. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES …………………………………………………………………viii LIST OF FIGURES………………………………………………………………….. ix ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS…………………………………………………………....x Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………….1 1.1 Rational for the study………………………………………………………….2 1.1.1 Why Bangalore City, India?....................................................................2 1.1.2 Why focus on ICTs and participatory government?................................4 1.2 Overview of Chapters ...……………………………………………………...5 Chapter 2 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK AND LITERATURE REVIEW ......... 8 2.1 Information Society: Are we there yet? ......................................................... 8 2.1.1 Evidence, strenghts and weaknesses ....................................................14 2.2 Information Technology and the City.............................................................16 2.3 Role of Information Technology in Government and Governance................18 2.3.1 Government in the Digital Age : E-government ..................................21 2.4 Information Technology, Democracy, and Citizen Participation ...................24 2.4.1 ICTs and Democracy............................................................................26 2.5 Relevance of these theoretical frameworks to current research .....................28 2.6 Research Questions………………………………………………………….29 Chapter 3 RESEARCH DESIGN ...............................................................................31 3.1 Methodology...................................................................................................32 3.2 The Survey: Strategy, Design and Process.....................................................33 3.3 Strategy for conducting the study…………………………………………....35 3.4 Why Ethnography? .........................................................................................36