E-Government in Canada: Transformation for the Digital Age

Chapter 10. Beyond Canada's Borders

Chapter 10 Beyond Canada's Borders Many of the forces reshaping domestic structures are also transnational in scope and implication. Much as e-government creates pressures for interoperability within countries, it will also do so in terms of relationships between countries - andboth state andnonstate actors. Thesecurity imperative presents a conundrum for governments in an increasingly globalizing and digital age of interdependence. On the one hand, the increasing mobility of financial, cognitive, and human resources —both within and between countries - means that nogovernment enjoys asufficient capacity toactalone in addressing the widening spectrum of security challenges,including terrorist and criminal activity, the use of digital technologies by such groups, and the overall reliability and resilience of a digital infrastructure that transcends any single jurisdiction. This widening technological canvas of shared networks and electronic linkages - which serves asa backbonein thefacilitation of more collaborative efforts between governments- thus also provides heightened exposure to new pressures and threats. Thegovernance challenge so prevalent within national authorities —striking a balancebetween central authority and decentralized, moreflexible forms of innovation - also extends beyond national borders as technology and security gofurther than traditionalfree-trade flows in generating pressures for strengthened multilateral and bilateral agendas. Yet these agendas —in particular the stakeholders, venues, and governance arrangements to be adopted in their pursuit —remain highly contested. Within this context, section 10.1 sketches the main characteristics of the transnational environment in terms of governance andconnectivity - situating the central role of the United States and the consequences of this rolefor Canada in ageneral manner. Section 10.2 turns more directly to the issue of homeland security efforts in the United States, asking whether Canadians have been placed at risk (by drawing on specific examples demonstrating the growing links between Canadian and American governance). Section 10.3 then turns to thefuture of North American relations in a digital world - considering the bilateral and trilateral pressures that exist currently. Section 10A addresses global governance challenges rooted in the widening importance of ICTs 256 E-GOVERNMENT IN CANADA and Internet connectivity the world over; the Canadian perspective on such challenges is also examined. 10.1 Transnational Fluidity Distinctions between government and governance can often be fluid, particularly in the domestic environment where a 'public sector7 denotes democratically accountable authorities at national or subnational levels (authorities that nonetheless comprise governance processes both internallyand collectively). Forthe most part, however, the absence offormal democraticmechanisms beyond national borders (encompassing transnational polities, with the EUbeing the only partial exception) ensures that decision-making isprimarily about governance arrangements that encompass both state or governmental actors(most often from countries) and a more distinctive 'nonstate' flavour. Economic and technological integration, personified by the symbolism of the Internet as a unifying force for democracy and capitalism the world over, fuels pressures for new forms of governance that must nonetheless coexist with shifting priorities and antics of countries. The growing presence of multinational corporations and new socialmovements suggests a departure from anation-state-centric order of governance, the Westphalian international order that shaped global politics for much of the second half of the twentieth century, and is neither feasible nor desirable (Slaughter et al. 2004). Yet state governments remain powerful actors, and the transition to something new and transnational is under way, although the institutional design of this new order remains uncertain, contested, and fluid (Coglianese 2000). The emergence of a discourse focused on e-democracy is a good illustration of these uneven and somewhat competing forces. While national governments remain primarily concerned with designing egovernment initiatives centred on efficiency and service delivery, the push for alternative forms of democracy, including online variants, has been more rooted in many segments ofcivilsocietywhose outlook is more global than national (Norris 2005). Invariably, such interests and their mobilizing abilities in an increasingly interconnectedworld BEYOND CANADA's BORDERS 257 have enhanced the Internet's stature as a new social and political infrastructure for transnational engagement (Geiselhart 2004). Here the centrality of the Internet is real, underpinning the mobilization of new social movements, the sharing of information and knowledge, and the empowerment of civil society mechanisms and voices that are inherently transnational, often disconnected from any particular domestic system of governance (Preyer and Bos2002;Norris 2005). While often lacking the resources of private sectors, the growing strength and presence ofcivil society actors in the transnational realm is a major force in terms oftransnational power relations and transnational decision making (Rosenau 2002). Yet questions arise: is such a group...