In the cloud and on the ground: Dealing with conflict in the Digital Anthropocene

The Anthropocene’ has become the household term associated with the technology-driven convergence of human and natural spheres (Brownsword & Somsen, 2021). In fact, because it is difficult to fully understand the human separate from these digital technologies, various scholars have started to speak about the ‘Digital Anthropocene’ (McLean, 2020; von Essen et al., 2023). This research focuses on how states and citizens interact in this Digital Anthropocene. In the Digital Anthropocene social interaction does not take place either online or offline, but rather in hybrid spaces ‘in-between’.

It is within such spaces that governments are dealing with challenges such as climate change and inequality, and the crises that follow from that, like the housing crisis. The choices of governments about how to deal with these challenges result in political choices that confer different benefits and costs to different democratic publics. This has been the cause of increased citizen-state conflicts that largely take place also digitally- think for example about the contestation of global movements like Extinction Rebellion.

The digital realm is thus increasingly central to understanding and navigating both conflict and governance, as well as the governance of conflict, in the Digital Anthropocene. Therefore, this project investigates the way conflicts are worked through in the interaction between governments, citizens and digital spaces amidst the challenges posed by the Anthropocene. More specifically, we zoom in on three elements of state-citizen interaction: (1) Everyday life as politics in a digitized world; (2) Governing the screen-level bureaucracy ; (3) Governing the screen-level democracy.

The term "Anthropocene" describes the era where human activity significantly impacts the planet. Recently, scholars have introduced the concept of the "Digital Anthropocene," highlighting how digital technologies are deeply intertwined with human existence. This research explores how governments and citizens interact in this digital age.

In the Digital Anthropocene, social interactions blend online and offline spaces. Governments face challenges like climate change and inequality within these hybrid spaces, leading to political decisions that affect different groups in various ways. These decisions often spark conflicts, many of which play out digitally, such as protests by movements like Extinction Rebellion.

The digital world is crucial for understanding and managing conflicts and governance today. This project specifically examines how these conflicts are navigated through interactions between governments, citizens, and digital spaces, focusing on three areas: everyday political life in a digital world, managing digital bureaucracy, and managing digital democracy.