A Janus-faced view
of electronic governance
Between Foucault and Habermas
Karol Dobrzeniecki
Nicolas Copernicus University
Torun (PL)
Reykjavik, 13th – 14th of July 2007, LEFIS Meeting
The Information Technology
Paradigm*
- information is its raw material
- pervasiveness of IT’s effects
- networking logic
- flexibility: the material basis of an
informational society can be
reprogrammed and retooled
*M.Castells,
The Information Age: Economy, Society and Culture.Vol 1.:The
Rise of the Network Society, Oxford 2000, p. 69.
Why a theoretical dimension of
the electronic governance?
-to avoid a technological determinism
-to provide a conteptual framework
-to identify new kind of values and
risks
Two visions: Habermas vs. Foucault
Habermas: Ideal speech situation
-
The requirement of generality
Autonomy
Ideal role taking
Power neutrality
Transparence
The unconstrained, unifying, consensus-bringing
force of argumentative speech
Can the ideal speech situation
occur in the cyberspace?
-
New digital tools for a civil society
Electronic government and self-government
Access to public information
Internet Standard Making Process
Foucault: disciplinary power
-
hierarchical observation
normalising judgements and examination
micro-penalties and rewards
more effective, less repressive control
no central controlling agency
Bentham's Panopticon is an ideal architectural
model of modern disciplinary power. Its
principle may be universally applied.
Potential for disciplinary projects
in the digital age
•
•
•
•
Digital Rights Management Systems
Intelligent Vehicle Highway Systems
Radio Frequency Identification
Video-surveillance cameras
Conclusion:
There is a very thin border between:
-the-perfect-knowledge-society
project
and
the-perfect-knowledge-about-asociety project
How to keep the balance?
- technological transparency (open standards)
- taking care of the public domain
- understanding of the new modes of
regulation