GOVERNING THROUGH PLATFORMS: SOCIAL MEDIA AND INFORMAL E-GOVERNANCE IN KAZAKHSTAN

Abstract

The study conceptualizes social media-based state-citizen interaction as a form of informal e-governance-visibility-driven, extra-institutional, and mediated by private platforms. The analysis draws on an original dataset of 1,050 government-citizen interaction threads collected between March and September 2025 across major national agencies platforms. Using structured content analysis and logistic regression, the study evaluates responsiveness, response type, follow-up, and resolution while examining the effects of digital visibility, crisis context, and institutional capacity. Although 63% of citizen requests received responses, substantive administrative outcomes were rare (8.8%), with symbolic acknowledgment dominating. Visibility significantly increased response likelihood, while institutional capacity conditioned substantive follow-through. Crisis contexts accelerated responsiveness without altering structural constraints. The findings advance a visibility-capacity model of informal e-governance, showing that platforms amplify communication but rarely transform administrative routines, raising questions about accountability and equity in digital governance.