Singapore's Dilemma: Control versus Autonomy in IT-Led Development

Abstract

A frequently debated question is whether technology molds society or is molded by it. From the rst perspec-tive, known as a determinist view of technology (Ebersole, 1995), the Internet carries with it certain types of val-ues, organization, and social structure that will inevitably impact society. From the second perspective, known as an instrumental view of technology (see discussion in Feenberg, 1991), technologies such as the Internet are “pure instrumentality ” (Feenberg, 1991, p. 5), indifferent to the ends to which they are employed. This is closely connected to the issue of potential politi-cal impact of the Internet. A determinist perspective might predict that introduction of the Internet (with its means of decentered communication)would inevitably democratize government. In contrast, an instrumental perspective sug-gests that state authorities can wield the Internet to their own purposes, even using it to increase centralized con-trol. The most extensive empirical study of computeri-zation and political control was carried out by Danziger, Dutton, Kling, and Kraemer (1982), whose analysis of data from some 500 U.S. cities and counties indicated that computerization tended to reinforce the power and in u-ence of those already in authority. However, such research has not yet been replicated internationally, nor has similar research been conducted on the impact of introducing the Internet. One important test case for understanding the relation-ship of information and communication technologies and democratization is Singapore. This city-state stands out internationally in two regards. First, the country’s leaders exert a level of social and political control that is unique among wealthy nations. And second, those same leaders are engaged in one of the most far-reaching attempts to

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