Testing the antecedents to e-democracy towards citizens’ happiness: a structural equation modelling approach to ‘MyGov’ initiative,India

ABSTRACT

“MyGov” is an ambitious ICT-based platform of the government of India, where citizens contribute to policy making by engaged in various ways. As the initiative is about to complete 5 years, the research is focused on to test the antecedents to e-democracy and citizens’ happiness by a structural equation modeling on responses from 413 users of “MyGov” platform. The empirical outcomes established the predictive role of transparency and value expectancy on e-democracy in addition to the impact of trust and e-democracy on citizens’ happiness. The study also supported the positive association between transparency and trust.     

Spatial models in voting advice applications

We examine the use of spatial models in Voting Advice Applications. A successful branch of VAAs uses multidimensional models of the political space to inform users of their policy match with political parties. Creators of these VAAs offer only a very generalized justification for the choice of their underlying spatial model. We examine whether these spatial representations offer a valid depiction of policy differences between parties. We compare the spatial models from the available national ‘electoral compasses’, which include established democracies as well as semi-authoritarian and transitional systems. We find that the two-dimensional ‘one-size fits all’ model that is used in all of these countries fails to accommodate significant variation between party systems.     

The design,purpose, and effects of voting advice applications

In recent electoral politics, one of the most striking internet-related developments is the increasingly widespread use of Voting Advice Applications (VAAs). In this introduction to the symposium devoted to analysing the design, purpose, and effects of voting advice applications, we briefly discuss the literature on these tools for voters, articulate the aims of the symposium, and summarise the six contributions. These papers represent the leading edge of an emerging subfield of electoral research, which has not only significant practical relevance but also research links with many other fields in political science.     

Examining Development of E-Government in Russia and China: A Comparative Approach

E-government has been an emerging trend in recent decades, inviting interest from policy makers, bureaucrats, citizens, and public administration researchers. The purpose of this article is to track and analyze inception and evolution of e-government systems in Russia and China. Authors utilized the UN e-government survey to compare various dimensions of e-government over eleven years. The findings indicate that although both countries achieved high levels of e-government development, marked by a high level of availability and integration of e-government services, both Russia and China came short of reaching e-democracy, the highest level of e-government, which inherently promotes e-participation.