Analysis of Asymmetrical Power Relations in Digital Public Services in the Brazilian Amazon Region

This study analyzes asymmetrical power relations by observing social practices within digital public services in situations of digital social exclusion. The technological/organizational perspective in digital services studies cannot capture how asymmetrical power relations and digital social exclusion affect digital public services. Therefore, we propose a relational perspective based on Bourdieu's theory of practice, applying his main concepts to analyze these relations: social field, habitus, and capital. The analytical framework is applied to two digital public service implementation cases targeting populations in digital social exclusion: unemployment insurance for artisanal fishers and the general fishing register, implemented in artisanal fishing communities in the Brazilian Amazon region. The cases illustrate the asymmetry of power in digital public services, as reflected in the social practices of state agents who designed the systems without involving citizens. The artisanal fishers struggled to access the digital services as planned, requiring mediation by representative entities. The proposed framework effectively analyzed the cases and can be applied in other studies focusing on asymmetrical power relations in contexts of digital social exclusion related to digital public services.