Identity Management, Administrative Sorting and Citizenship in New Modes of Government

In many countries, the introduction of new forms of identity management (IDM) in government, such as identity cards, smart cards or web-based e-authentication solutions, is receiving a lot of attention. Critics of these initiatives generally point at the expected outcome of substantial information imbalances between government and citizens. Clearly, newly formed, ICT-facilitated information relationships between government and citizens would not only need a reorganization of the e-government service domain itself but also a reconsideration of citizens' rights and responsibilities. However, to be able to address these issues adequately, we first need to gain further empirical understanding about what changes are happening to information relationships between citizens and government as a result of the introduction of new forms of IDM in e-government service provision.