Description: "The advent of globalisation and the continued development of new information technology has created an environment in which the one certainty for organisations is that they cannot cling to archaic, centralised and hierarchical models. The increased fluidity and speed of the global environment call for horizontal networked structures, where decisions are achieved through collaborative mechanisms, rather than pyramidal models. New processes have been emerging, in particular the practices of deliberative and participatory governance, with increased stakeholder and citizen inclusion and participation, greater use and reliance on networks of organisations, and efforts to resolve conflict through dialogue. New forms of organizations, networks, coalitions and partnerships, as well as the promises of open sourcing and the collaborative horizontal model point towards a new governance apparatus in which relationship-based patterns can project and protect a human dimension in this digital world. This book will prove invaluable to all those who are interested in participatory governance and organisational change"--
Review Quotes:
"The Internet is tied to initiatives aimed at democratizing governance in order to empower organizations in a post-bureaucratic era. This volume brings together a complementary array of international scholars to provide a theoretically rich understanding of the potential of new paradigms and practices. This is must reading for anyone with a serious interest in the structures and dynamics of organizations." - William Dutton, Professor of Internet Studies, Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford, UK
"This is a valuable contribution on an issue that is only going to get more and more important as time goes on. It makes for a thought-provoking, wide-ranging, and insightful exploration of the ways in which traditional political organization and governance has been both dynamized and disrupted by new technologies and the great expectations which they have helped to create." - Tim Bale, Professor and Chair in Politics, School of Politics and International Studies, Queen Mary, University of London, UK