Elin Wihlborg

Who is Governing What? Governing Local Technical Systems-an Issue of Accountability

Abstract The article discusses accountability in governance of local energy and IT systems. The aim is to focus on accountability of local policy making regarding technical systems by comparing consequences when new forms of governance are developed. Governance steering demands and ensures a clear division of responsibility regarding what a network is responsible for, but not regarding who is accountable for the decision making and implementation. On the other hand, in a steering context characterized by government, it is clear who is responsible and accountable for decisions, but the specific issues for which different actors can be accountable are unclear. We argue that demands for clarifications of accountability emerges from the complex modern governance.

Governed by technology? Urban management of broadband and 3G systems in Sweden

SWEDEN is often ranked highly in international comparisons of information technology (IT) and mobile phone penetration, and its infrastructure for electronic communication is good and is continuously improving. An historical comparison of telecommunications, railways, post, and road infrastructures in Sweden shows a dominant characteristic of state responsibility substituting for local and private interests. Kaijser argues that this regime is so strong that it can be regarded as the Swedish model. Now, specific policies addressing the information society have been integrated into this regime. Thus, any discussion of Swedish policies regarding the information society will have general implications. The two most recent IT infrastructural changes—broadband and third-generation mobile phones (3G)—have been organized differently at the national level in Sweden and thus also implemented differently at the local (urban and rural) level. The spatial-based system of broadband is seen as a municipal responsibility, while the flexible and mobile system for 3G-telephone systems is mainly market-focused. This article focuses on the interplay between how technological innovations are implemented and designed by analyzing broadband and 3G infrastructure at the local level in Sweden. The article is based on an analysis of large sociotechnical

Legitimate E-Government -- Public E-Services as a Facilitator of Political Legitimacy

This paper addresses the critical issue of legitimacy in relation to e-government by focusing on public e-services to citizens. The discussion is framed through a tentative model on how to integrate legitimacy in design and development of e-government. In theory legitimacy is built on legality and trust towards and within the state. In practice it is developed through a socio-technical collaborative formation of local cultures based on common values, trust, interpretation of systems and practices. Legitimacy is crucial for democratic governance and is a basic prerequisite for all governments. Legitimacy is most often seen as generated through personal, face-to-face meetings, but e-government substitutes such opportunities for interaction. E-governments is neither clearly place-bound. Legitimacy thus has to be gained and sustained in slightly different ways. This paper brings a political science perspective on legitimacy into the IS discussion on e-government. Legitimacy of e-government has to be further theoretically extended to be useful and applicable for sustainable e-societies in different governmental context. Here a conceptual model on legitimacy of e-government is elaborated on in relation to local socio-technical settings and co-produced processes.

Policy for Sociotechnical Transition: Implications from Swedish Historical Case Studies

Abstract In this paper we analyse past sociotechnical transitions, and based on that we discuss the prospects for the central state in promoting radical transitions towards improved sustainability today. The case studies include the sociotechnical systems in Sweden providing for: (a) urban housing; (b) passenger cars as a favoured mode of transport; and (c) piped water/wastewater, all fundamentally transformed over the first seven decades of the twentieth century and especially in the 1940s up until the 1960s. The core lesson from the case studies is that the central state, by taking an active role and by coordinating the roles of different stakeholders, values and knowledge as well as different policy areas and instruments, can accomplish a coherent and effective management of such transition processes. Also in contemporary network governance settings the central state is well suited to accomplish such an active and coordinative role based on its legitimate power to design and implement different public policy instruments.

Public quality – for whom and how? Integrating public core values with quality management

Quality management (QM) plays an important role in public organisations’ efforts to create better access to, and effectiveness of, specific services. When transferring QM models from market-based firms to public services provided by public organisations, several basic contrasts and even contradictions must be addressed. Core values of the public sector differ from those of the private sector, but what are the consequences of this distinction? In this article we discuss the importance of four central arguments on public services: rights and access have to be considered; equality is an important facet of public services; coerciveness is a unique feature of public services; and legitimacy can be improved by high-quality services. These arguments have not been discussed explicitly in the context of QM. Adding these central aspects of public services to the QM field could generate more sustainable ways for developing quality and QM in public services in particular and the public sector in general.

Secure electronic identification (eID) in the intersection of politics and technology

There is a growing demand for secure identification systems in online relations. Electronic identification (eID) is becoming a critical issue, both for e–government and for online relations in general. The development of eID is a combination of technical innovations such as system design and regulatory and policy considerations. This paper analyses the development of eID in Sweden, by considering it both as a technical and a political development process co–constructed through policymaking. However, the main conclusion is the lack of political awareness in this process. This is especially noticeable since the process leads to a formation of the embryo of a digital citizenship based on the need for safe and efficient identification within public administration.

Trust in secure public e-services: translating polices into use

The emerging information society challenges relations between public agencies and citizens in many ways. Providing e-services on the Internet and using other forms of information and communication ...

TECHNOLOGY IN POLICY - An Explorative Case Study of Information Systems in Merging Authorities

This paper shows how e-government can, or might even have to, be considered as a public policy transformation. In the process of merging authorities into new organisations public policies on e-gove ...

e-Government for all – Norm-critical Perspectives and Public Values in Digitalization

There are hopes that e-government will bring many benefits, including efficiency, democratization, participation, and emancipation of citizens. However, despite some evidence that supports these cl ...

New ways and actors when diplomacy goes digital - The e-Diplomacy Campaign "Midwives4All"

This article focuses on Midwives4All, an e-diplomacy campaign launched by the Swedish MFA in 2015. The campaign aims to spread knowledge about the benefits of midwives and evidence-based midwifery. ...