Abstract

The term «e-government» is now global. There are a number of models of e-government transition while the work on e-government implementation is carried out in almost all of the countries. However, the question of what are the limits of applicability of the existing models in the analysis of the concrete implementation processes remains virtually unstudied. This article describes the basic model, ensuring the establishment of international indicators of e-government development, and shows its limits based on experience the experience of the United States, China and Russia. Such models of e-government as World Bank model, the four stage model of К. Layne and J. Lee, UN DESA model et al. consider the main stages of its formation, ignoring the social and cultural context in which this formation takes place. This, on the one hand, enables the operationalization and monitoring e-government development at the world, and on the other, significantly distorts the actual specifics of the process. The analysis of the U. S., China and Russia experience shows that in the e-government implementation process a key role is played by national administrative cultures that define the objectives of transition, and therefore the limits of acceptable solutions. The process of information technologies installation in public administration in the United States was held under the banner of citizen’s empowerment. The officially declared aim was to maximize their involvement in the decision-making. At the same time, those who make decisions, sought process for the orientation to reproduce the experience of business, which has successfully developed e-commerce. This process reflects the specifics of American management culture, which is traditionally defined as «administrative weaknesses but normative strength». In the countries where the tradition requires direct impact on local authorities, the e-government transition is based on different principles. In China, e-government is formed to improve the efficiency of government by tightening control over the provincial and municipal levels of government and thereby eliminating conditions for abuse of power and corruption. The main objectives are to ensure sustainable development and support economic growth. Russia is characterized by contradictory approach to e-government implementation. The government establishes a set of goals, which are equal, not hierarchized, and tries to achieve them all simultaneously, which leads to numerous conflicts between the various implementers. Resulting controlled chaos is typical for Russian management culture. In general we can say that the e-government model is used more to show compliance of local governance reforms to the international standards and global trends, rather than an instrument of e-government implementation.