Slobogin, C. (2007). Privacy at Risk: The New Government Surveillance and the Fourth Amendment. University Of Chicago Press.
In America today, privacy is slowly becoming a fleeting memory. After the terrorist attacks on 9/11, fear has become the fuel by which the Bush Administration has enacted some of the most far-reaching legislative acts to retract privacy protection in this country. From the USA PATRIOT Act to warrant-less wiretapping, the concept and protections of privacy have taken a backseat to the political interests of the state.
Traditionally, the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution has provided a measure of protection against unreasonable searches and seizures; and by judicial interpretation, a right to personal privacy against government intrusion. Ever since Katz v. United States in 1967, the Fourth Amendment has served as the yardstick for measuring the protection of personal privacy. However, recent measures of political and security related importance have belittled the citizen’s right to privacy in a variety of settings. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Amendment, freedom, government, Internet, intrusion, invasion, justification, law, legitimacy, privacy, Slobogin, surveillance, technology
The e-government movement concerns the use of information technology to exchange information and provide services from government organizations to citizens, businesses, and other branches of government. While initially used as a means of information dissemination, many government organizations at all levels are capitalizing on the use of technology to make interaction with government easier. The aim of e-government is to increase government efficiency, effectiveness, transparency, and to improve citizen-government interactions. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: campaigning, citizen, democracy, e-government, efficiency, governance, Internet, IT, legitimacy, participation, protection, technology, voting
Brandon C.
PAF 602 (Fall 2008)
Abstract
Goodnow, F.J. (2003). Politics and Administration: A Study in Government. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers.
Frank Goodnow’s classic work aims to express the separation of government authority beyond the traditional executive, legislative and judicial triad. Goodnow distinguishes and explains the dichotomy between elected legislators who enact the will of the state (politics) versus the officials and entities that are responsible for the execution of that will (administration). Goodnow outlines the separation of political and administrative authority in a comparative analysis between the United States and a number of European countries. His analysis and suggestions are predicated upon the efficient and legitimate formulation and exercise of the will of the people and the source of administrative legitimacy. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: administration, dichotomy, Frank Goodnow, legitimacy, politics
Over the past many years, America has seen a slow degradation of trust in the structures of government. While the source of this eroding confidence is debatable, what is not of contention is the desire to return the public’s trust in the processes and control of government through the process of legitimation. One major area of both consternation and promise is that of information technology use in government. The modern age has brought us a tool for both good and evil in the form of computer and Internet technologies. As government slowly adopts these technologies as a means of efficiency and enhanced service delivery, the question that presents itself is, “what legitimacy is inherent in the technologies that government employs to conduct the public’s business?” Are we to simply trust that the computer programs used by government are written with the interest of the public in mind? Does the government itself even know what its chosen applications are doing? If not, then what can be done to legitimate the use of these new technologies on the citizenry? Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: e-government, legitimacy, open code, open-source
