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Rolling Out Digitalization: Hegemonies, Policies and Governance Failures

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Digitalization and Public Sector Transformations

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Abstract

This chapter traces the gradual rollout of national digitalization policies in Denmark from 1994 to 2017. It excavates the different ideas, ideals and visions that have been tied to these political efforts over time, showcasing how institutional path-dependencies have shaped this area of policymaking in distinct ways. The chapter argues that discourses centred on sustainability, equality, participation and democracy (present in the early years of policymaking) have gradually been replaced with a decidedly economic set of ideas. Efficiency, flexibility, innovation, competitiveness and citizens-as-customers have become increasingly hegemonic ideas since the early 2000s. The chapter thus showcases how different governmental actors have proposed different hegemonic visions over time. In doing so, the chapter seeks to reactivate the contingent foundations of this area of governance, emphasizing its imminently political, rather than technical, character.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The chapter builds on and incorporates arguments previously presented in Schou and Hjelholt (2017a) and Hjelholt and Schou (2017a, b).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. IT University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Jannick Schou & Morten Hjelholt

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  1. Jannick Schou
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  2. Morten Hjelholt
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Schou, J., Hjelholt, M. (2018). Rolling Out Digitalization: Hegemonies, Policies and Governance Failures. In: Digitalization and Public Sector Transformations. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-76291-3_4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-76291-3_4

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-76290-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-76291-3

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