This book examines the efforts of the European Union, both past and ongoing, to harness the socio-economic potential of the internet in public policy-making. In order to achieve this, the author delves into the interactions between actors in the process of EU decision-making, using an outlook which focuses on how both multi-level and experimentalist governance can provide solutions for digital policy governance. The book also addresses the involvement of local and regional authorities in digital policy-making, both in how they endorse decisions made at the EU level, and in how they contribute directly to digital policy-making in their own localities.

This book explores the intricate connection between the Single Market, characterized by the freedom of movement of goods, services, capital and labor within and across Europe, and the Digital Single Market, the virtual space that promotes freedom of movement of information and data. Both a result and catalyst of the Single Market, the Digital Single Market has become a different space from the Single Market, as the former is based on the application of information and communication technologies (ICTs), while the latter is the result of concerted actions and concessions by Member States in the European Union. The author argues that, similar to the Single Market, the Digital Single Market is an instrument, built by the influence of the Internet, which can provide a new means of socio-economic growth and development in Europe. While sharing many similar characteristics, the Single Market and the Digital Single Market diverge in important aspects, particularly with respect to policy. The research analyzes the interaction between policy actors, their influence in the European decision-making process, and their interests in order to establish a digital policy model, in comparison with market policy. Moreover, this volume considers the implementation process and the success of such initiatives under the current policy model, and puts forward policy recommendations. Ultimately, the author considers the utility of such research on digital policy, considering the current focus on migration, vulnerabilities to internal challenges (e.g., Brexit) and security threats, maintaining that the discussion of digital policies relates to an innovative vision of the European integration process and prospects for its future.

This volume explores the role of territory in the creation, maintenance and extension of a new type of frontier, the electronic frontier, from a social and economic point of view. It departs from the earlier concepts of borders - state, social, economic, ethnic, religious, etc. - to investigate the fluidity of borders and their shift towards an axis-based paradigm within the free-movement European Union. Specifically, the authors will examine a) the metamorphoses of frontiers between the real and the virtual, b) the importance of space (territory) in the new information society and the Digital Single Market and c) the evolution of electronic frontiers in relation to globalization and the network society. What happens when the Internet collides with new social and economic borders? In the past borders have been perceived from only a national state point of view. Now new types of borders or frontiers, such as social, economic, ethnic, religious frontiers, can be discussed. The electronic frontier is the result of a socio-economic analysis of the relationship between the Internet and new frontiers in society and the economy. The European space best represents the fluidity of borders and frontiers within this transformation. Thus, the European Union is the best space to perform research on the electronic frontiers. Borders are permeable or impermeable, agents of inclusiveness or of exclusion. The relations between the real space and the virtual space, but also the influence of the Internet on society, lead us to two other important concepts for our research, namely digital divide and digital inclusion, which define connections or barriers even within the virtual space. This book attempts to answer questions such as: What types of borders have information and communication technologies created in Europe? Which is the foundation of these new frontiers? How does the network society function in Europe and which type of frontier prevails? This title aims to fill the gap in the literature in the relationship between frontiers and information and communication technologies.

This book examines the efforts of the European Union, both past and ongoing, to harness the socio-economic potential of the internet in public policy-making. In order to achieve this, the author delves into the interactions between actors in the process of EU decision-making, using an outlook which focuses on how both multi-level and experimentalist governance can provide solutions for digital policy governance. The book also addresses the involvement of local and regional authorities in digital policy-making, both in how they endorse decisions made at the EU level, and in how they contribute directly to digital policy-making in their own localities.