The conceptualisation of democracy across the EU digital policy landscape

As the European Commission has continued the work on realising its 2019-2024 priorities, the number of new policies and regulation linked with digital technologies has steadily increased. Regulation on the development and deployment of Artificial Intelligence, use and governance of data, or policies to promote blockchain for example have kept the debate on the role of technology as a key issue in debates across academic and political fields. At the heart of the development has been the goal to construct, and establish a recognisable and distinct EU approach to digital governance, embedded in European values. This paper focuses on the role and conceptualisation of democracy in the recently emerged digital policies of the EU. The aim is more specifically to discuss the conceptual interplay between democracy, governance and technology, and analyse, which kind of emphasis is put on the concept of democracy through different examples. The contexts to be considered include addresses regarding the EU as an actor in global politics on digital technologies, democracy aimed at empowering the European citizenry, and finally the EU position on the digital economy. To achieve this, the paper builds on previous academic research on the EU digital policy, European governance, and conceptual history. As a result, it seeks to establish a broad ground for further research on the conceptual interlinkages between democracy, governance and technology, and the politics related to digital technologies more broadly.