Building the Virtual State  comprises two parts: theory and practice. In theory part, there are 6 parts in total: Introduction, Leveraging cyberspace to reinvent government,  networked computing Bureaucracy, Inter-organizational networks, and Enacting technology: an institutional perspective.

The first three parts of the book delineate the exciting emergence of information technology and the huge changes  in state and organizations brought about by it. The Internet is thought as an enabler of virtuality. Information technology will be used to reinvent government. Virtual agencies, or federal interagnecy websites, "would enable service integration not possible outside cyberspace", the author brings forward based on an analysis of the case of virtual federal government.

What I am interested in most is the institutional perspective of the following three chapters. The institutional analysis of information technology in government makes me curious. In economics, institution and technology are thought as two main impetus of society. However, how do the institution and technology interplay in a bureaucratic organization like government? What will happen to the structure, rules and governance of government while the information technology is used deeply?

The third chapter begins with the discussion of the bureaucracy from Max Weber. Fountain concludes characteristics of modern bureaucracy from Weber's view points.  "Weber's rational-legal ideal type was meant to indicate how bureaucracy could replace personalistic, patrimonial, patriarchal governance in society and economy." "The modern American state is a bureaucratic state." She helps the reader to understand that "fundamental concepts of governance follow logically from Weber's conceptualization, including jurisdiction, hierarchy, merit, documentation, and professional training in administration. "If bureaucracy is outmoded or deficient, which of these elements has changed?"

In the third chapter, Fountain goes on to abstract the central elements of bureaucratic structure as : (1) coordination, which includes mutual adjustment, supervision, standardization, and the standardization of people. As for the last point, the author explains that standards may be socialized into people, just as they are into work processes and equipment , through selection methods, traininng and education, appraisal, and incentive systems that reward standard behavior and punish deviations. (2) Bureaucratic functions. Every element is circumscribed to the impact that information technology will bring on it. "at a minimum, this tell us that design and use of the Internet would be a source of negotiation and political contest, the results of which have implications for authority, power, and resource distribution." (3) Bureaucratic flows. "Flows of authority, work, control, and staff information circulate in all directions throughout the organization."

Indubitably, the author think that bureaucracy is central to modern government today. The last part of the third chapter is Weber Redux. "Has jurisdictional disappeared? By no means, although some jurisdictional boundaries have changed character." A comparison between classic elements of bureaucracy with the structural elements and that in the wake of technological changes. "A notable result has been the detachment from individuals holding a particular role. To the extent that information is power, this fundamental structural shift has important implications for authority and power in government."  In sum, the author thinks that "the use of the Internet in bureaucracy is likely to lead to greater rationalization, standardization, and use of rule-based systems. The rules may not be visible because most of them will be hidden in software and hardware. But they will remain and may increase in power. Technology might be enacted to facilitate collaboration, shared information, and enhanced communication. Equally plausible, it may be designed and used coercively to promote conformance and control."

At the end of the third chapter, the author said:" But bureaucracy, in either rendering, has not diminished in importance." That is her view.

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