Over the past year, my PhD project has moved from conceptual exploration into a more consolidated and methodologically grounded phase. I would like to share a brief update on where the research currently stands, particularly for colleagues and collaborators working on democracy, digital governance, and political theory in Europe.
Methodology and Analytical Framework
The core methodological framework for the project is now fully developed. The research is grounded in a problem-based theory of democracy, drawing primarily on Mark E. Warren’s functional approach to democracy, which conceptualizes democracy in terms of three core democratic functions: empowered inclusion, collective will formation, and collective decision-making. These functions are realized through seven democratic practices (recognizing, resisting, deliberating, representing, voting, joining, and exiting).
Together, these dimensions form a 3×7 analytical matrix, producing 21 distinct function–practice intersections. Each intersection is treated as a discrete diagnostic site. For every cell in the matrix, I examine (1) the democratic norms at stake, (2) how the practice is institutionally or infrastructurally realized, (3) whether and how technocapitalist platform operations interfere with, displace, or reconfigure that practice, and (4) which measurable indicators (drawn from established democratic benchmarks, regulatory assessments, and institutional reporting) can be used to assess democratic robustness or degradation. This structure allows for systematic comparison across democratic functions and practices while retaining sensitivity to different causal mechanisms and institutional contexts.
Substantive Focus: VLOPs and VLOSEs in the Nordics
The substantive scope of the project has been deliberately narrowed. The research now focuses specifically on a core selection of 6-7 Very Large Online Platforms (VLOPs) and two Very Large Online Search Engines (VLOSEs), as defined under the EU’s Digital Services Act, with a particular emphasis on the Nordic countries.
This shift reflects both theoretical and empirical considerations. The Nordics provide a compelling case for studying democratic resilience: they combine high levels of institutional trust and democratic performance with deep digitalization and extensive reliance on platform infrastructures. This makes them especially relevant for examining how technocapitalist systems interact with, reshape, or displace democratic functions in practice.
Academic Networks and Research Communities
In 2024, I participated in the Internet Governance Forum (IGF), where I made great on-topic connections and engaged with a wide range of scholars, policymakers, and practitioners working on internet governance and digital rights. These conversations have been formative for the project, particularly in sharpening the distinction between normative critique and empirically grounded democratic diagnostics.
I am now a member of GIGANET, an international academic research network focused on internet governance, digital policy, and the political implications of emerging technologies, which has become an important intellectual home for the project. The interdisciplinary exchange within this community continues to inform both the theoretical framing and the empirical ambitions of the research.
Current Research Phase
The current phase of the project is threefold.
First, I am continuing focused writing work aimed at theoretically underpinning the analytical framework itself. This involves moving thought to paper on the normative foundations of the matrix by explicitly connecting democratic theory, democratic principles, and core democratic norms to each function–practice intersection. This work is concerned with democratic principles and clarifying what counts as democratic performance in each cell of the matrix, and why.
Second, the methodological work described above remains ongoing. In this phase, the project explicitly builds on the substantial body of work already carried out by scholars and institutions in the field of democracy assessment. Rather than inventing new indicators, the analysis systematically draws on established and widely used benchmarks (such as V-Dem) to identify established measurables that are already theoretically grounded and empirically validated.
These existing indicators are then mapped onto the matrix, allowing them to be reinterpreted through a democratic functions and practices lens. This approach leverages decades of cumulative scholarship on democratic quality, participation, accountability, and information integrity, while situating those benchmarks within a more fine-grained normative framework. The aim is to utilize what is already robustly established in the field and apply it systematically to the matrix, translating democratic theory into empirically tractable diagnostics without reducing democracy to narrow procedural indicators.
Third, a central focus of the current phase is establishing and deepening academic contacts for collaboration, exchange, and critical input. This includes dialogue with scholars working on democratic theory, digital governance, media systems, and Nordic political institutions, as well as engagement with interdisciplinary research networks relevant to the project’s scope. These interactions are treated as an integral part of the research process rather than as an add-on to it.
Looking Ahead
The next phase of the project will involve sustained matrix-based analysis across democratic functions and practices, with the aim of identifying patterns of erosion, displacement, and resilience linked to platform governance, data extraction, and infrastructure control.
I am particularly interested in continued dialogue with scholars working on democratic theory, digital governance, media systems, and Nordic political institutions. If you are working on related questions or would like to exchange perspectives, I would be very glad to connect through LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/in/thorlaug
Thora's blog - Thorlaug Borg Ágústsdóttir 