E-Government and Multi-Level Governance

Abstract

E-government is entering its second decade as a widely-embraced agenda for public sector reform. There are often distinctions made between e-government as administrative reform and e-governance as democratic reform, although there is invariable overlap between both spheres. In this context, the purpose of this paper is to undertake an examination of the impacts of egovernment on both administration and democracy in a multi-level governance environment. In doing so, we will provide a comparative assessment of two sub-national jurisdictions known for investing aggressively in e-government in recent years: Catalonia, Spain, and Ontario, Canada. This investigation will thus seek to identify the manner by which the pursuit of e-government by a state and a province is intertwined with-or separate from federalist structures.