CENTRALIZATION OF THE ELECTRONIC PARTICIPATION SYSTEM IN RUSSIA: A VIEW FROM THE REGIONS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17072/2218-1067-2024-2-25-35Keywords:
electronic participation; regions of Russia; Feedback Platform; information asymmetry; principal-agent relationsAbstract
Since 2020, federal authorities in Russia have taken a number of steps aimed at centralizing and unifying mechanisms of electronic civic participation in the regions. The introduction of the unified Feedback Platform (FP), which duplicates some of the previously existing regional channels, was a significant development in this regard. Russia's regions need to comply with federal directives while determining the fate of their own electronic platforms. This study analyzes the reaction of Russian regions to new federal projects and assesses their impact on regional development and information sharing. The research is based on a quantitative analysis of the Monitoring of eParticipation for 2020-2023 conducted by the authors, as well as on interviews with representatives of regional and local authorities. The results indicate a dichotomy in which centralization is accompanied by the preservation of successful projects by most regions. So far, standardization at the level of norms does not lead to equality in the supply of electronic participation by the regions. New federal initiatives are capable of reducing information asymmetry, but the regions perceive the changes as an integration of levels of government rather than a strengthening of vertical control. Moreover, the subjects have their specifics in the development of centralized systems.References
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