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The Power Inherent to E-Democracy Aalborg Universitet The Power Inherent in E-Democracy Greenlandic Experiences, Practices, and Visions Jørgensen, Andreas Møller Publication date: 2017 Document Version Other version Link to publication from Aalborg University Citation for published version (APA): Jørgensen, A. M. (2017). The Power Inherent in E-Democracy: Greenlandic Experiences, Practices, and Visions. General rights Copyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the public portal are retained by the authors and/or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. ? Users may download and print one copy of any publication from the public portal for the purpose of private study or research. ? You may not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain ? 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Downloaded from vbn.aau.dk on: October 08, 2021 THE POWER INHERENT IN E-DEMOCRACY Greenlandic Experiences, Practices, and Visions Andreas Møller Jørgensen PhD Dissertation, February 2017 Department of Social Sciences, Economics & Business Ilisimatusarfik The Power Inherent in E-Democracy: Greenlandic Experiences, Practices, and Visions Andreas Møller Jørgensen PhD Dissertation, February 2017 Ilisimatusarfik, Department of Social Sciences, Economics & Business Supervisor: Kim Normann Andersen, Professor, PhD Copenhagen Business School, Department of IT Management Co-supervisor: Maria Ackrén, Associate professor, PhD Ilisimatusarfik, Department of Social Sciences, Economics & Business 1 Resumé Internettet har som ingen anden teknologi (foruden trykpressen måske) været genstand for demokratiske forestillinger. Gårsdagens statiske websider samt de uanede mængder information internettet gjorde tilgængelig har givet næring til to sammenhængende forestillinger: Idéen om at borgere kan vægte og teste politiske påstande og meninger samt frygten for informationsoverload. Peer-produktion og sociale netværk nærer i dag håbet om at dominerende diskurser og privilegerede magt positioner kan udfordres igennem en personaliseret politik. Men samtidig vokser bekymringen for ekkokamre, manipulation og ukontrollerede algoritmer. Disse og lignede forestillinger er indfanget ved fænomenet e-demokrati. E- demokrati forstås i denne afhandling som brugen af Informations- og Kommunikations Teknologi (IKT) til at understøtte demokratiske politiske praksisser såsom stemmeafgivning, debat, konsultation, petition og demonstration. E-demokrati inkluderer således politiske praksisser udøvet direkte af borgerne og indirekte af politikere og embedsværket. Disse praksisser forandres hele tiden i takt med at IKT anvendes på nye måder til at understøtte demokratisk handling. Nærværende afhandling handler om de magtdynamikker, der driver disse ændringer. Målet er at muliggøre en kritisk refleksion af e-demokratiets udvikling. Afhandlingen består af fire artikler og en cappa. Formålet med sidstnævnte er at forene de fire artikler substantielt, teoretisk, ontologisk, epistemologisk og metodisk samt reflektere over implikationer og bidrag. Tilgang Forskningen på området er domineret af politisk videnskabelige studier, der fokusere på effekterne ved at bruge IKT til at understøtte demokratisk praksis. Sådanne studier etablerer pejlemærker for den fortsatte udvikling af e-demokratiske praksisser ved at måle og evaluere internettets effekter op imod normative demokratiske idealer. Sådanne studier forklarer imidlertid ikke fyldestgørende, hvordan forskellige og til tider modsatrettede former for e-demokratisk praksis udvikles. Dette kræver tillige, at de processer, hvorigennem forskellige versioner af e-demokrati konstrueres, undersøges. I afhandlingen sammensættes en tværdisciplinær tilgang, der trækker på elementer fra politisk videnskab, sociologi, antropologi og science-technology-society studies, og som fokuserer på, hvordan magt udøves igennem e-demokratiske visioner og praksisser. Fra dette perspektiv forstås e-demokrati ikke som en teknologisk løsning på en demokratisk krise, men som et polemisk og politisk fænomen. Brugen og afhængigheden af IKT destabiliserer og udfordrer hele tiden hegemoniske antagelser og etablerede demokratiske praksisser. Afhandlingen anvender to magtbegreber til at analysere disse magtdynamikker. Det første begreb, som oprindeligt er udviklet af Laclau og Mouffe, beskriver magt som hegemoni. Det andet begreb er oprindeligt formuleret af Foucault og i de efterfølgende governmentality studier. Det fremstiller magt som forsøget på at styre handling ifølge specifikke logikker eller normer og for at nå et bestemt mål. Begge begreber forstår magt som en handling, der har til hensigt at skabe regularitet. Kamp er en immanent del af magt og forandring er altid mulig. Magt skal derfor studeres ved at udforske kampene for eller imod forandring. De to begreber finder anvendelse på forskellige cases. Hegemonibegrebet finder anvendelse på cases, hvor positionerne og grupperingerne er i radikal opposition til hinanden og hvor de e-demokratiske praksisser synes at opstå mere eller mindre vilkårligt. Foucaults magtbegreb finder anvendelse på cases, der er 2 karakteriseret ved, at aktørerne forsøger at konstruere strategiske og taktiske e-demokratiske praksisser. Afhandlingen tilvejebringer således en kvalitativ udforskning af både de kaotiske og uorganiserede magtkampe samt de taktiske og strategiske rationaler, der er indlejret i konstruktionen af diverse former for e-demokratisk praksis. I afhandlingen argumenteres det at disse magtkampe ikke kun er befolket og formet af menneskelige aktører men også af de teknologier, der medierer den demokratiske praksis. For at kunne inkludere mennesker og teknologier på lige fod, kombineres de to magtbegreber med aktør- netværk-teori – en afart af science-technology-society studies, som argumenterer for en flad ontologi og for performative aktør-netværk. Case Casen for studiet er Grønland. Men på grund a praktiske omstændigheder og metodiske overvejelser fokuseres på hovedstaden Nuuk. E-demokrati er i Grønlandsk sammenhæng et empirisk uudforsket område. Afhandlingen bidrager således til en mindre men voksende litteratur, der bryder nyt land og udvider det empiriske fundament for forskningen på området. Litteraturen er ubekendt med Grønland og samtidig er e-demokrati også nyt i Grønland. I afhandlingen argumenteres det, at Grønland kan anskues som et paradigmatisk case. Grønland er i gang med en afkoloniseringsproces og der arbejdes for større selvstændighed. De demokratiske praksisser er således under stadig udvikling og derfor desto mere påvirkelige af de nye e-demokratiske praksisser, som hele tiden udvikles, ændres og tilpasses. Borgere, politikere, og embedsværket bekræfter og reproducerer ikke blot etablerede måder at tænke og praktisere demokrati. I stedet kombineres og tilpasses diverse elementer i forfølgelsen af forskellige interesser. Metode E-demokrati praktiseres og konstrueres på flere måder, af mange aktører samt på mange forskellige steder og platforme. Der argumenteres derfor i afhandlingen for en metodisk pragmatisme og fleksibilitet, der ikke a priori udelukker nogen datatyper eller datagenereringsmåder. I stedet for inkluderes aktører, steder og platforme, samt forskellige praksisser fortløbende. Kvalitative data genereres på forskellig vis: Borgere, politikere og embedsmænd interviewes vha. semistrukturerede individuelle, fokusgruppe samt online interviews. Politiske samt administrative rapporter og strategier, der berører samspillet mellem IKT og demokrati, indsamles. De primære websider, som medierer forskellige former for demokratisk praksis, gennemgås for at tilvejebringe en forståelse af hvordan de styrer brugerens handlinger. Demokratiske praksisser observeres på tværs af on- og offline platforme. I analysen forfølges associationerne imellem de aktører, der former og praktiserer e-demokrati i Grønland. Analysen fokuserer især på hvordan praksis hele tiden er genstand for forhandling imellem et væld a heterogene aktører. For at få greb om magtkampene undersøges det hvilke magtrelationer konkrete e-demokratiske konstruktioner er modsvar til og hvilke effekter disse konstruktioner implicerer. Afhandlingen forsøger således at etablere en sammenhæng imellem de lokale magtkampe og de bredere demokratiske implikationer og bevægelser. 3 Udfordringer Studiet står over for og reflektere over en række udfordringer, hvoraf nogle stammer fra forskningstilgangen selv. Viden forstås som et resultat af forhandlinger imellem blandt andre forskeren, lokale aktører, forskningsfællesskabet, det empiriske data og de anvendte teoretiske perspektiver. Videnskabelige artikler forsimpler imidlertid ofte de processer hvormed viden skabes. Det følger ydermere af forskningstilgangen, at forudfattede antagelser om det studerede fænomen bør ’kasseres’ og at forskeren i stedet skal følge og lære af de lokale aktører og deres praksisser. Forudfattede antagelser om bade magt og demokrati har imidlertid med nødvendighed influeret analysen. Det er desuden metodisk udfordrende at inkludere alle aktører ligeligt. De metoder, der anvendes til at generere og til dels også analysere data, er oprindeligt udviklet til at generere data om menneskelige praksis
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