At the Conceptual Crossroads of Politics and Technology: An Exploration Into EU Digital Policy
As the EU pursues digital sovereignty and defines its role in the global digital era, this article examines the conceptual politics that shape EU technology policy. By conceptual politics, we refer to how the meanings and applications of core political concepts are actively contested, shaped, and re...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Cogitatio
2025-07-01
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| Series: | Politics and Governance |
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| Online Access: | https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/view/9736 |
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| author | Anna Björk Atte Ojanen Johannes Anttila Johannes Mikkonen |
| author_facet | Anna Björk Atte Ojanen Johannes Anttila Johannes Mikkonen |
| author_sort | Anna Björk |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | As the EU pursues digital sovereignty and defines its role in the global digital era, this article examines the conceptual politics that shape EU technology policy. By conceptual politics, we refer to how the meanings and applications of core political concepts are actively contested, shaped, and renegotiated within policy discourse and practice. While existing scholarship has examined discursive strategies and technocratic tendencies in EU digital policy in isolation, this article distinctively analyses their paradoxical interplay. We do so by employing a conceptual politics framework that emphasises temporality, drawing insights from conceptual history. We focus on how foundational concepts, including rights, governance, and agency, are being renegotiated at the intersection of EU politics and rapid technological change. Specifically, we examine the conceptual shifts related to two cases—fundamental democratic concepts (digital rights) and those prompted by specific technologies (blockchain)—to illuminate how the discursive framing of digital technologies performs political work. Through our analysis of policy documents, we identify a central tension: as the EU utilises expansive future‐oriented discourse to frame its digital policy, this simultaneously tends to narrow the horizon of expectations and make politics more technocratic. This dynamic risks obscuring the contested nature of politics by framing technological development as inevitable. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-61efc5fa949b4a62a82dc25f9e250cb2 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2183-2463 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | Cogitatio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Politics and Governance |
| spelling | doaj-art-61efc5fa949b4a62a82dc25f9e250cb22025-08-21T09:23:08ZengCogitatioPolitics and Governance2183-24632025-07-0113010.17645/pag.97364287At the Conceptual Crossroads of Politics and Technology: An Exploration Into EU Digital PolicyAnna Björk0Atte Ojanen1Johannes Anttila2Johannes Mikkonen3Demos Helsinki, FinlandDemos Helsinki, Finland / Department of Philosophy, Contemporary History and Political Science, University of Turku, FinlandDemos Helsinki, FinlandDemos Helsinki, FinlandAs the EU pursues digital sovereignty and defines its role in the global digital era, this article examines the conceptual politics that shape EU technology policy. By conceptual politics, we refer to how the meanings and applications of core political concepts are actively contested, shaped, and renegotiated within policy discourse and practice. While existing scholarship has examined discursive strategies and technocratic tendencies in EU digital policy in isolation, this article distinctively analyses their paradoxical interplay. We do so by employing a conceptual politics framework that emphasises temporality, drawing insights from conceptual history. We focus on how foundational concepts, including rights, governance, and agency, are being renegotiated at the intersection of EU politics and rapid technological change. Specifically, we examine the conceptual shifts related to two cases—fundamental democratic concepts (digital rights) and those prompted by specific technologies (blockchain)—to illuminate how the discursive framing of digital technologies performs political work. Through our analysis of policy documents, we identify a central tension: as the EU utilises expansive future‐oriented discourse to frame its digital policy, this simultaneously tends to narrow the horizon of expectations and make politics more technocratic. This dynamic risks obscuring the contested nature of politics by framing technological development as inevitable.https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/view/9736citizenshipconceptsdemocracyeuropean uniongovernancepolicytechnologytemporality |
| spellingShingle | Anna Björk Atte Ojanen Johannes Anttila Johannes Mikkonen At the Conceptual Crossroads of Politics and Technology: An Exploration Into EU Digital Policy Politics and Governance citizenship concepts democracy european union governance policy technology temporality |
| title | At the Conceptual Crossroads of Politics and Technology: An Exploration Into EU Digital Policy |
| title_full | At the Conceptual Crossroads of Politics and Technology: An Exploration Into EU Digital Policy |
| title_fullStr | At the Conceptual Crossroads of Politics and Technology: An Exploration Into EU Digital Policy |
| title_full_unstemmed | At the Conceptual Crossroads of Politics and Technology: An Exploration Into EU Digital Policy |
| title_short | At the Conceptual Crossroads of Politics and Technology: An Exploration Into EU Digital Policy |
| title_sort | at the conceptual crossroads of politics and technology an exploration into eu digital policy |
| topic | citizenship concepts democracy european union governance policy technology temporality |
| url | https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/view/9736 |
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