Rethinking citizen – government relationships in the age of digital identity: Insights from research

Abstract

The introduction and use of new ICT-enabled means of managing citizen identity information in public service environments may lead to fundamental changes of the informational foundations of citizen – government relationships. This raises important theoretical and empirical questions about the impact and implications of emerging information age government on the'social contract' between the citizen and the State. To many scholars, it is clear that the introduction of ICT-enabled forms of managing citizen identity information at least requires fundamental rethinking around substantial'contractual' issues, such as privacy and equity. Thus far however, there is little empirical evidence available of the changes happening to citizen – government relationships.

In this contribution, scholarly thinking around the impact and implications of the use of new digital forms of citizen identity management in public service environments is further explored. In particular, the development is explored of two seemingly opposite scholarly perspectives thus far: a Surveillance State perspective and a Service State perspective. This scholarly thinking is then confronted with empirical research findings. In so-doing, three substantive empirical research projects, one from the UK and two from New Zealand, are drawn upon. Two of these studies explored the management of citizen identity information from the perspective of government agencies in their public service relationships with citizens, whilst the third study explored the attitudes of citizens towards the management of personal information with and across government in the course of electronic public service provision. Finally, a meta-analysis of the empirical research findings and conclusions on changes in citizen – government relationships in the age of digital citizen identity is presented.