The politics of digital age governance

Abstract

The chapter discusses two major questions regarding the impact of digitization on the role of the state vis-à-vis society. First, will the new technologies (‘smart’ homes and cities, new forms of mobility, communication, and social control, and so on) weaken or strengthen the infrastructural power of the state? Will state power have to retreat in social coordination and regulation, or will we see a renaissance of public control of infrastructure sectors? This will be no mere problem-solving adaptation, but a power-based conflictual process. In this respect, the second question is important: How are these possible shifts reflected in changing patterns of policy-making? Will networked policy processes undermine or reinforce traditional structures involving conventional political and social actors in politics and policy-making, or will new ones emerge? Is the state becoming more dependent on the private sector, for example in the regulation of social media using forms of private governance?