The State of Digital Democratic Theory I

Abstract

Digitalization is often said to pose a fundamental challenge to democracy. Diagnoses range from societal polarization to algorithmic decision-making, from sidelining the institutions of democratic will formation to undermining the capacity of sovereign nation states to act. While all these challenges are actively discussed in the public there has not been much of a theoretical debate about how to react to the structural changes that societies experience in the course of the digital transformation. Does the digital revolution affect democratic theory as such? While globalization has given rise to many new fields of engagement and novel questions in democratic theory, digitalization has often been interpreted as something more superficial, something that may reinforce problematic tendencies in our societies but does not in itself necessitate a paradigm shift or leads to a transformation of democracy. This panel will address, whether the disinterested attitude of most theorists still suffices, or whether, how and in what regards democratic theory has to adapt its premises and perspectives in order to inform our judgment on the fast-changing societal order.