Ian Mcloughlin, Rob Wilson, and Mike Martin
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- September 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199557721
- eISBN:
- 9780191761232
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199557721.003.0006
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Public Management
The debate on identity and governance has polarized into an argument between what is required to deliver the ‘service state’ and what is tolerable to avoid the emergence of a ‘surveillance state’. In ...
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The debate on identity and governance has polarized into an argument between what is required to deliver the ‘service state’ and what is tolerable to avoid the emergence of a ‘surveillance state’. In this chapter we explore the much-vaunted role of ‘smart cards’ as a means of authenticating citizen identity and as a platform for providing access to cross-agency services. We also examine the vexed question of the extent to which the complex identities and relationships we have as citizens, patients, and clients can be reduced to that of a ‘customer’ and be managed through e-commerce solutions such as ‘customer relationship management’ (CRM) systems. We conclude that if digital identity management through smart cards and CRM systems are central aspects of digital government we need to be extremely careful about the concepts and practices of ‘identity’ and ‘governance’ associated with it.Less
The debate on identity and governance has polarized into an argument between what is required to deliver the ‘service state’ and what is tolerable to avoid the emergence of a ‘surveillance state’. In this chapter we explore the much-vaunted role of ‘smart cards’ as a means of authenticating citizen identity and as a platform for providing access to cross-agency services. We also examine the vexed question of the extent to which the complex identities and relationships we have as citizens, patients, and clients can be reduced to that of a ‘customer’ and be managed through e-commerce solutions such as ‘customer relationship management’ (CRM) systems. We conclude that if digital identity management through smart cards and CRM systems are central aspects of digital government we need to be extremely careful about the concepts and practices of ‘identity’ and ‘governance’ associated with it.
