Paper short abstract:

This paper is an attempt to understand the process of change and continuity emerging out of the asymmetric relationship between the normative structure of good governance and the agency of the receiving culture with a special focus on the e-governance initiatives in India.

Paper long abstract:

The post Cold War period has witnessed an increasing awareness of the significance of the concept of good governance, especially in the context of developing countries. International Organizations, such as the World Bank, have acted as a catalyst for the formulation and implementation of standards of good governance in many African and Asian countries. The proposed paper strives to explore the applicability of "universal" good governance principles in the Indian context, with a special focus on e-governance projects in rural India. The aim is to critically examine the process of change and continuity as contained within the complex interplay of the normative structure of governance and the agency of emerging resistance. The overall attempt of this paper is to locate how culture, contexts, technology and politics become intertwined in relations of power and asymmetries.

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