Sun Xiulin: Between Family and State: The Embedding Process of Digital Governance
Between Family and State: The Embedding Process of Digital Governance
Journal of Social Development, 2023 Issue 4
[Abstract]
In grassroots governance practices, digital governance technologies and the "family" in vernacular societies may exhibit occasional incompatibility, yet they also demonstrate a certain level of affinity. Through an examination of a local digital governance platform, this study reveals that the platform's task and process system grants governance rights at the village level. This empowerment allows the "family" to efficiently and simplistically assume a governance role in overseeing the entire process. Simultaneously, the integration and accessibility of the "family" introduce a tension of connectivity to digital governance, enhancing the mobilization of villagers' participation in the digital governance process. Consequently, while digital governance and the "family governance model" may appear to be in structural contradiction, they are interembedded in the context of rural governance, fostering innovation in rural governance practices.
