Dilemmas and tradeoffs of digital governance models: the European Union, China and United States compared

Abstract

How a state approaches digital governance can directly and significantly impact economic, social, and political trends domestically. The strength of democracy, especially within the context of the global democratic recession, is often argued to be closely tied to digital governance. This chapter explores how a state’s chosen model of digital governance impacts the strength of its democracy over time, by exploring the different approaches to digital governance utilized by the European Union (EU), China, and the United States. The United States has primarily prioritized economic gains in its model to digital governance and while this has produced considerable economic gains, it has been at the expense of the strength of its democracy. China, on the other hand, has prioritized state control and political stability. This has indeed strengthened the Communist Party’s authoritarian grip on power, but the crackdown has also stifled China’s once-flourishing technology sector. Finally, the EU and its member states have developed a human-centered model, that prioritizes regulation, inclusivity, and democracy. However, the EU has had issues in the past asserting its digital sovereignty and promoting its technology sector. The chapter argues that democracy must be carefully considered when conducting digital policy. While competent digital governance can have a democratizing impact if the government embraces it fully, the opposite is also true. Often, digital governance has proven to be self-reinforcing. Governments utilize digital governance to become more democratic or authoritarian depending on their regime. However, digital governance is complex, and governments face several trade-offs and dilemmas in terms of their policy approaches.

The research question we aim to resolve with this book is: What is the role of the EU in the digital age?