Democracy in the Digital Age: Governance, Power and Technology

Catalog description

This course examines how digital technology is redefining democratic governance in the 21st century. It explores how data-driven systems, e-governance platforms, and algorithmic decision-making are influencing the pollical process, regime change, law enforcement, and public service delivery. As the rise of digital governance has taken place against two decades of global democratic backslide, the course will also critically interrogate how the digital infrastructure divide - a divide that runs along lines of identity, income, and geography - affects citizens' access to political participation, government accountability, and regime form. The control of the digital infrastructure by a few large tech companies, who shape the political discourse by determining what news and opinions that people see, also raises important questions about the impact that corporate power has on the democratic process. While the course focuses mainly on political processes at the national level, it will include cases of global democratic governance. In the area of climate change, tools such as satellite imaging, AI, and blockchain have improved transparency in emissions tracking, resource management, and climate finance, while digital platforms are empowering citizens to participate in collective action by providing real-time data analysis. Another case of global governance that we will be studying is the role of digital technology in meeting the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda. According to the United Nations, digital technologies play a crucial role in achieving at least 70 percent of the 169 SDG targets, including targets in education, ending hunger, and alleviating poverty.