A Capabilities Approach to E-Participation in the Philippines: Redefining the Modality of Socially Inclusive Governance

Abstract

The primary objective of this dissertation is to challenge the orthodox view that ‘access’ should be the principle driver for promoting e-Participation. This author argues that a more citizen centric framework is necessary that factors in the political and social conditions in which e-Participation takes place, referred to as the environment in this dissertation. By doing so, citizens may find value in participating in the governance process through Web 2.0 technologies. This is accomplished by a) identifying a core set of determinants that can enhance citizen’s opportunities to achieve value through e-Participation; b) examining whether the use of Web 2.0 technologies are benefiting the government and the citizens they serve through a deepening of democracy by way of citizen engagement – specifically, in government systems where elite-dominated formal democracy is still firmly rooted; and c) developing a framework that alters the emphasis of the policy and development discourse away from resource based frameworks for promoting and encouraging e-Participation to one that accounts for the social conditions in which e-Participation takes place. By meeting these objectives, the central research question of this dissertation can be answered; namely, “despite the various attempts to encourage e-Participation, why have so many frameworks failed to achieve socially inclusive governance? More explicitly, what are the determinants affecting citizen’s opportunities to achieve value through e-Participation?” a question that has been suggested by academics and institutions working in the fields of e-Government and human development, yet neither supported with convincing evidence nor presented with any degree of theoretical rigor.