From No-government to E-government

In the last two decades the creation of new states and state-building in post-conflict situations has been in the focus of both policy-making and academic research. Various factors have been deemed to play an important role in the success and failure of state-building tasks. One of the most omitted actors in the process of state-building has been ICT. This thesis looks at the issue of building modern state administrations in post-conflict countries, with particular focus on the role of ICTs in aiding these administrations. Furthermore, this thesis looks at the role and impact of these initiatives in institution building as very often in post-conflict and state building situations it is the ICTs that precede the adoption and enactment of legislation and other institutions such are administrative rules and procedures. In order to achieve its aim, this thesis will first present the current state of literature in state building with a particular focus on the use of ICTs in post-conflict and state building situations. Then it will present the case of Case Management Information System (CMIS) and its implementation in the justice sector of Kosovo. Through tracking the process of conception, implementation and development of the CMIS and the interplay of different actors involved, this thesis will argue that ICTs are not just an enabling factor, but a rather active actor in building and defining the nature of the institutions in which they operate.