Governance in the Age of the Internet and Personalization of Politics: Comparing the East and the West with a Case of Hong Kong

This paper examines how the differences in governance under the age of the Internet, including the rise of Web 2.0 or social media, and personalization of politics before the East and the West by using Hong Kong as a case... [ view full abstract ]

This paper examines how the differences in governance under the age of the Internet, including the rise of Web 2.0 or social media, and personalization of politics before the East and the West by using Hong Kong as a case study to illustrate the problems, issues and complexity involved. Under Web 2.0, the Internet, particularly the social media such as Facebook, is taken as a powerful tool in transforming governance. It has sharply reduced the cost of political participation and facilitated the forming and sharing of a more critical view of government. However, studies have discovered that the challenge created by the Internet and social media is much more than increased political participation but also the rise of non-institutional means of participation and the personalization of politics in which individuals often participate as an individual without the intermediation of representatives and unbound by organizational norms and means. There are also challenges that there would be differences in its impact between the East and the West based on cultural and contextual factors, including Asian values and the level of democratization. It will be a theoretically-based paper with findings from the case of Hong Kong. The empirical part of the project includes citizen survey and interviews from major stakeholders in the policy-making process. Findings from this paper should enhance our understanding of how to design a governance structure to enhance policy effectiveness in this digital age.