Abstract
This chapter examines the extent to which Pacific Island governments are using ICTs to engage with civil society, through the initiation of service provision, or some form of policy dialogue. It finds that whereas moderate progress has been made with the establishment of key websites, in only a few instances have these been designed as “portals” through which the public can link to any government department or agency, or through which these departments can communicate with citizens and civil society organizations online. There has been, on the other hand, considerable growth in government activity on social media sites, which are easy to initiate and manage. More active than government-initiated sites are the social media sites established by individuals, civil society groups, think tanks and academia, for the express purpose of commenting on government policies and activities. Communicative practices between state/civil society/citizenry are still being negotiated, particularly in states where government has traditionally been the voice of authority and government information has been protected by Official Information Acts. Government and civil society alike have to work more collaboratively to maximise citizen engagement in public governance. Whilst such situations do not fit neatly into the ‘transformative’ models of e-Public Services and e-Democracy articulated by the World Bank and the UN, they do constitute a beginning to online interaction between citizen and state.
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Notes
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The Global South refers to least developed and developed countries, which are for the most part former colonies, and very many of which are in the Southern hemisphere.
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The model by Lee (2014, p. 16) is discussed in chapter one.
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https://www.facebook.com/fijimediawatch/posts, accessed 29 September 2016.
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Ministry of Health Patient Referral Policy 2015, and Ministry of Health National Health Service fees schedule 2015.
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https://www.facebook.com/mfaicookislands/?ref=br_rs, accessed 28 September 2016.
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https://www.facebook.com/sriccookislands/about/?entry_point=page_nav_about_item&tab=page_info, accessed 28 September 2016.
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Indigenous Fijian Affairs.
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https://www.facebook.com/IPBC.PNG.1/posts, accessed 30 September 2016.
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https://www.facebook.com/Papua-New-Guinea-Tax-Review-239167382953463/about/?entry_point=page_nav_about_item&tab=overview, accessed on 29th September 2016.
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This chapter does not review the activities of think tanks and universities outside the region that have a focus on PICs. Most recently, the Royal Oceania Institute was established in Tonga “… to support and pursue Pacific-centered, ethical, fact-based research and analysis” and to “… facilitate open dialogue on topics relevant to community, sustainable development, and regional relations”: https://royaloceaniainstitute.org, accessed 30th September 2016.
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http://www.pacificpolicy.network/#re-thinking, accessed 30 September 2016.
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http://www.pacificpolicy.network/#future, accessed 30th September 2016.
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Charles Yala interview, Port Moresby, 14 November, 2013.
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http://www.cimcpng.net/index.php/forums/national-development-forum, accessed 30th September 2016.
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Thomas Webster then Charles Yala at NRI; Paul Baker at INA, Jerry Finin at PIDP, and Derek Brien at PIPP.
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The Internet Society http://www.internetsociety.org was established in 1992 as a global organization open to all who are interested in issues of Internet policy, technology, and capacity building.
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https://www.facebook.com/Samoa-Information-Technology-Society-SITS-1125975097417973/, accessed 30th September 2016.
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pngscape.net.
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pngmirror.com.
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http://www.mekeremorauta.net/about, accessed 14 September 2016.
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https://www.facebook.com/niuginioutlook/posts/330469603964227:0, accessed 8 October 2016.
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https://vanuatudaily.wordpress.com/about-site, accessed 30th September 2016.
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Van Trease (2014).
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Hassall, G. (2017). E-Government and Civil Society: Exploring New Relationships in Pacific SIDs. In: Cullen, R., Hassall, G. (eds) Achieving Sustainable E-Government in Pacific Island States. Public Administration and Information Technology, vol 27. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-50972-3_13
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