ABSTRACT
I. Introduction............................................................................................................ 582 II. Technological and institutional approaches to participation ............................... 583
A. Democratic participation and the administrative state.................................. 585 B. Methodology................................................................................................... 587
III. ENS in a historical perspective .............................................................................. 587 A. Lessons from history....................................................................................... 587
longer run....................................................................................................... 590 B. Implementing ENS: the triumph of hope over experience .......................... 590
IV. ENS as a technological and institutional innovation............................................. 594 V. Conclusions ............................................................................................................ 596
Acknowledgments ........................................................................................................... 596 References........................................................................................................................ 596
This chapter considers whether new information and communication technologies have significant effects on citizen participation by evaluating the development of a
major innovation in electronic governance. We analyze the creation of an electronic system in Los Angeles for providing stakeholders a warning of upcoming political decisions and an opportunity to furnish feedback. We evaluate this innovation not only as a technological innovation that affects citizens’ capacity and motivation for participation but also as an alternative institutional means for involving citizens in policymaking and public administration. To place this experiment within this larger institutional perspective, we draw upon the lessons of historical reforms aimed at expanding citizen participation. We find that technology can positively affect individuals’ capacity and motivations. Nevertheless, it is not a panacea, because, by itself, technology does not overcome the complex of political, institutional, and behavioral impediments that have limited previous participatory reforms.
