Engagement@web 2.0 between the government and citizens in Singapore: dialogic communication on Facebook?

TLDR: In this article, the authors examine the gradual, yet significant, evolution in technology deployment by the ruling elite in Singapore and trace the developments in e-engagement to bridge the affective gap between a ruling elite and an increasingly IT-savvy population, which has demonstrated its astuteness in using new media to articulate its disenchantment.

Abstract: Responding to the rapid adoption of new technologies, political parties, both incumbent parties and minor ones, have been quick to leverage web 2.0 technologies for party communication and mobilization. A coterie of work addressed how social media such as Facebook are used as political tools for the promotion of candidate and party campaign platforms. However, a present bias is observed as current literature focus on western democracies. To bridge the gap, this study examines the gradual, yet significant, evolution in technology deployment by the ruling elite in Singapore. This paper traces the developments in e-engagement to bridge the affective gap between the ruling elite and an increasingly IT-savvy population, one which has demonstrated its astuteness in using new media to articulate its disenchantment. Developments in the last five years indicate that the government's earlier endeavor to centralize and streamline its political engagement via a single portal, REACH, is insufficient to say the least. ...