Redefining Participation in the Era of Digital Government: A Systematic Review of d-Participation Literature

Abstract

The transformation of digital government has redefined every aspect of public administration; yet the frequent interchangeable use of the terms “electronic” and “digital” in literature creates significant conceptual confusion. As electronic and digital do not signify the same technological reality, traditional definitions, and models of "e-participation" have become insufficient to meet contemporary dynamics. Grounded in this inadequacy, this study bypasses obsolete e-participation debates and focuses directly on the "d-participation" literature, which addresses the actual contemporary need. A systematic literature review (SLR) was conducted to examine how the concept of d-participation is defined and delineated in academic research. By screening the Web of Science database, twenty-two high-quality papers were analyzed through the lens of conceptual definitions. The findings indicate that d-participation is conceptualized not merely as a technical shift in tools, but as a distinct participatory philosophy shaped by data and next-generation digital government dynamics. This study aims to fill a gap in the literature by clarifying the conceptual boundaries of d-participation.

Keywords

• Digital Participation
• D-Participation
• Digital Government
• Systematic Literature Review
• Conceptual Definition

Supporting Institution

The author was supported by the YÖK 100/2000 PhD Scholarship Program during the doctoral studies related to this research.

Ethical Statement

Since this study is based solely on a systematic review of publicly available academic literature, ethics committee approval was not required.

Dijital Devlet Çağında Katılımı Yeniden Tanımlamak: d-Katılım Literatürünün Sistematik İncelemesi

Abstract

Dijital devlet dönüşümüyle birlikte kamu yönetiminde her şey yeniden tanımlanırken, literatürde "elektronik" ve "dijital" kavramlarının sıklıkla birbirinin yerine kullanılması ciddi bir kavramsal karmaşaya yol açmaktadır. Ancak elektronik ve dijital aynı anlama gelmemektedir; dolayısıyla geleneksel "e-katılım" kavramı ve tanımları, günümüz dinamiklerini karşılamakta artık yetersizdir. Bu çalışma, e-katılım modellerinin bu yetersizliğinden hareketle, doğrudan günümüzün gerçek ihtiyacı olan “d-katılım" literatürüne odaklanmaktadır. Çalışma kapsamında, d-katılım kavramının literatürde nasıl tanımlandığını ve sınırlarının nasıl çizildiğini ortaya koymak amacıyla sistematik bir literatür incelemesi yürütülmüştür. Web of Science veri tabanı taranarak ulaşılan yirmi iki adet makale, d-katılımın kavramsal tanımları ekseninde analize tabi tutulmuştur. Bulgular, d-katılımın sadece teknik bir araç değişimi değil, veri ve yeni nesil dijital devlet dinamikleriyle şekillenen farklı bir katılım felsefesi olarak tanımlandığını göstermektedir. Bu çalışma, d-katılımın kavramsal haritasını netleştirerek literatürdeki boşluğu doldurmayı hedeflemektedir.

Keywords

• Dijital Katılım
• D-Katılım
• Dijital Devlet
• E-Katılım
• Sistematik Literatür Analizi
• Kavramsal Tanımlama.

Supporting Institution

Yazar, doktora eğitimi süresince YÖK 100/2000 Doktora Burs Programı kapsamında desteklenmiştir.

Ethical Statement

Bu çalışma yalnızca açık erişimli akademik literatürün sistematik incelenmesine dayandığından etik kurul onayı gerektirmemektedir.

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