The paper looks into the dynamics of information society policy and its implementation in the Greek context. It argues that information society development is a contested process, influenced by pre‐existing state, economy and society relations. Based on this, it looks into the different aspects of the idiosyncratic path which the evolution of the Greek information society has followed, particularly after 2000. Using Bob Jessop’s strategic‐relational approach (SRA) to the state as an analytical framework and drawing on a number of in‐depth interviews with relevant political actors, it provides insights into policy implementation by examining: the public management of information technology projects, how such projects were received in bureaucratic structures and practices, as well as the relationship between the state and the information and communication technology (ICT) sector in public procurement processes. The emphasis is on the period 2000–2008, during which a major operational programme on the information society in Greece was put into effect. The paper also touches upon the post‐2008 experience, suggesting that information society developments might include dynamics operating independently and even in contradiction to the state agenda.
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Dr Dimitris Boucas is Lecturer at the Westminster School of Media and Communication.
He has a background in both information technology and social sciences, with a degree in informatics from the University of Patras in Greece, a degree in social sciences from the Open University, UK, a MSc in science and technology policy from the University of Sussex, and a PhD in information society and the role of the state (with the Greek information society as case study) from the LSE.
In 2016-2018 he was a Research Fellow at the University of Westminster working on the EU Horizon 2020 project “netCommons: Network Infrastructure as Commons”, which examined community networks as complementary or alternative to the standard Internet. In 2014-2015 he worked on a scoping study on the state of the media sector and implications for independent journalism in Greece, funded by the Open Society Foundations. In 2013-2014 he was funded by the LSE to conduct research into citizen networks and their deployment of new media for purposes of support and sustainability in austerity Greece.
Dimitris’s research interests are broadly the social, political and economic aspects of media, communication and the digital society: they include political economy of communication, information society theory and policy, critical studies of innovation in the digital economy, media policy and politics, public service broadcasting, alternative economies and media, work in the digital economy, media and communication theory, and social theory.
Dimitris has extensive teaching experience in information society, media and communication theory and policy, new media, innovation management and qualitative research methods. He has taught at various Universities, including the University of Westminster, the LSE, City University of London, the University of Paris (Dauphine) and the University of Piraeus.
