Books by Jannick Schou
Routledge, 2019
Western societies are under siege, as fake news, post-truth and alternative facts are undermining... more Western societies are under siege, as fake news, post-truth and alternative facts are undermining the very core of democracy. This dystopian narrative is currently circulated by intellectuals, journalists and policymakers worldwide. In this book, Johan Farkas and Jannick Schou deliver a comprehensive study of post-truth discourses. They critically map the normative ideas contained in these and present a forceful call for deepening democracy.
The dominant narrative of our time is that democracy is in a state of emergency caused by social media, changes to journalism and misinformed masses. This crisis needs to be resolved by reinstating truth at the heart of democracy, even if this means curtailing civic participation and popular sovereignty. Engaging with critical political philosophy, Farkas and Schou argue that these solutions neglect the fact that democracy has never been about truth alone. It is equally about the voice of the democratic people.
Post-Truth, Fake News and Democracy delivers a sobering diagnosis of our times. It maps contemporary discourses on truth and democracy, foregrounds their normative foundations and connects these to historical changes within liberal democracies. The book will be of interest to students and scholars studying the current state and future of democracy, as well as to a politically informed readership.
Palgrave Macmillan, 2018
This book provides a study of governmental digitalization, an increasingly important area of poli... more This book provides a study of governmental digitalization, an increasingly important area of policymaking within advanced capitalist states. It dives into a case study of digitalization efforts in Denmark, fusing a national policy study with local institutional analysis. Denmark is often framed as an international forerunner in terms of digitalizing its public sector and thus provides a particularly instructive setting for understanding this new political instrument.
Advancing a cultural political economic approach, Schou and Hjelholt argue that digitalization is far from a quick technological fix. Instead, this area must be located against wider transformations within the political economy of capitalist states. Doing so, the book excavates the political roots of digitalization and reveals its institutional consequences. It shows how new relations are being formed between the state and its citizens.
Digitalization and Public Sector Transformations pushes for a renewed approach to governmental digitalization and will be of interest to scholars working in the intersections of critical political economy, state theory and policy studies.
https://www.palgrave.com/gp/book/9783319762906
Den digitale borger, 2017
Digitaliseringen af velfærdsstaten påvirker i større eller mindre grad alle.
Men hvad vil det si... more Digitaliseringen af velfærdsstaten påvirker i større eller mindre grad alle.
Men hvad vil det sige at blive gjort til og være en digital borger? Hvilke fortællinger, perspektiver og blikke er der på den digitale borger i dag? Og hvordan håndterer det enkelte individ disse nye forventninger i sin dagligdag? Disse spørgsmål undersøger forfatterne i denne bog ved at sætte fokus på den digitale borger som en grundlæggende ny politisk figur i den danske velfærdsstat.
Bogen samler resultaterne fra en række empiriske studier for at give et nuanceret blik på denne nye figur. Den præsenterer et historisk studie af den danske stats politiske arbejde med digitalisering fra 1990’erne og frem til i dag. Den undersøger, hvordan danske borgere oplever digitaliseringen af deres dagligdag. Den sætter fokus på, hvordan danskere med fysiske og kognitive funktionsnedsættelser anvender digitale teknologier i deres hverdag. Og den bevæger sig helt ud i velfærdsstatens frontlinje gennem et studie af danske borgerservicecentre og frontmedarbejdernes håndtering af borgeren. Samlet set tematiserer og belyser disse nedslagspunkter på forskellig vis, hvad det vil sige at være en digital borger i dagens Danmark.
Bogens målgruppe er alle, der er interesserede i overgangen til digitale samfund. Den er skrevet til praktikere i velfærdsstaten og til studerende på videregående uddannelser, som ønsker at forstå digitaliseringens mange betydninger.
http://hansreitzel.dk/Kommunikation/Den-digitale-borger/9788741268125
Articles by Jannick Schou
Social Policy & Administration, 2018
Digitalisation reforms have become increasingly pervasive across European welfare agencies and pu... more Digitalisation reforms have become increasingly pervasive across European welfare agencies and public sector institutions. As welfare provision becomes premised on the use of digital technologies, often in the form of “self‐service” solutions, new demands are imposed on citizens, including already disadvantaged groups. Although existing research has showcased how digitalisation often reproduces existing lines of stratification, little to no work has been conducted on such processes in the context of welfare provision and public administration. Through a study of citizen service centres in Denmark, based on ethnographic observations and qualitative interviews, this article analyses the new exclusionary mechanisms that emerge at the frontline of the digital agenda. The article argues that digitalised welfare agencies simultaneously sustain existing lines of social stratification and enhance these by producing new forms of digital exclusion. Taken together, the article contributes with new knowledge on the impact of digitalisation policies and their exclusionary consequences for disadvantaged citizens.
Over the past decades, advanced capitalist states have increasingly used digital technologies to ... more Over the past decades, advanced capitalist states have increasingly used digital technologies to deliver state services and restructure public sector institutions. This practice has had profound institutional as well as political consequences. So far, however, little research has been conducted that examines the forms of statehood and governance to which the use of digital technologies gives rise. To fill this research gap, this paper examines governmental digitalization through the lens of political economies of state rescaling. In doing so, it engages with the production of state spatiality, ultimately advancing the concept of digital state spaces, which links scholarship on state restructuring with work in digital geography. Drawing on several years of empirical research, the paper demonstrates the connection between these fields with an in-depth case study of digitalization efforts in Denmark, a country that is often cited as an example of a highly digitalized European state. It traces how national policy efforts have created new digital state spaces in Denmark and examines the local consequences these state interventions have had. Taken together, these conceptual and empirical insights contribute to a more nuanced understanding of governmental digitalization as a regulatory instrument implicated in the production of new spaces of governance.
“Fake news” has emerged as a global buzzword. While prominent media outlets, such as The New York... more “Fake news” has emerged as a global buzzword. While prominent media outlets, such as The New York Times, CNN, and Buzzfeed News, have used the term to designate misleading information spread online, President Donald Trump has used the term as a negative designation of these very “mainstream media.” In this article, we argue that the concept of “fake news” has become an important component in contemporary political struggles. We showcase how the term is utilised by different positions within the social space as means of discrediting, attacking and delegitimising political opponents. Excavating three central moments within the construction of “fake news,” we argue that the term has increasingly become a “floating signifier”: a signifier lodged in-between different hegemonic projects seeking to provide an image of how society is and ought to be structured. By approaching “fake news” from the viewpoint of discourse theory, the paper reframes the current stakes of the debate and contributes with new insights into the function and consequences of “fake news” as a novel political category
Digital citizenship is becoming increasingly normalized within advanced democratic states. As soc... more Digital citizenship is becoming increasingly normalized within advanced democratic states. As society and governmental institutions become reliant on digital technologies, citizens are expected to be and act digitally. This article examines the governance of digital citizens through a case study of digitalization efforts in Denmark. Drawing on multiple forms of data, the article showcases how digital citizens are governed through a combination of discursive, legal and institutional means. The article highlights the political, but also institutional work that goes into making citizens digital. Providing this case study, the article contributes to current critical perspectives on the digital citizen as a new political figure. It adds new insights into digital citizenship by connecting this figure to wider processes of neoliberalization and state restructuring, pushing for a more pronounced focus on governmental practices.
Critical Discourse Studies, 2018
This research examines how fake identities on social media create and sustain antagonistic and ra... more This research examines how fake identities on social media create and sustain antagonistic and racist discourses. It does so by analysing 11 Danish Facebook pages, disguised as Muslim extremists living in Denmark, conspiring to kill and rape Danish citizens. It explores how anonymous content producers utilise Facebook’s socio-technical characteristics to construct, what we propose to term as, platformed antagonism. This term refers to socio-technical and discursive practices that produce new modes of antagonistic relations on social media platforms. Through a discourse-theoretical analysis of posts, images, ‘about’ sections and user comments on the studied Facebook pages, the article highlights how antagonism between ethno-cultural identities is produced on social media through fictitious social media accounts, prompting thousands of user reactions. These findings enhance our current understanding of how antagonism and racism are constructed and amplified within social media environments.
This research analyses cloaked Facebook pages that are created to spread political propaganda by ... more This research analyses cloaked Facebook pages that are created to spread political propaganda by cloaking a user profile and imitating the identity of a political opponent in order to spark hateful and aggressive reactions. This inquiry is pursued through a multi-sited online ethnographic case study of Danish Facebook pages disguised as radical Islamist pages, which provoked racist and anti-Muslim reactions as well as negative sentiments towards refugees and immigrants in Denmark in general. Drawing on Jessie Daniels’ critical insights into cloaked websites, this research furthermore analyses the epistemological, methodological and conceptual challenges of online propaganda. It enhances our understanding of disinformation and propaganda in an increasingly interactive social media environment and contributes to a critical inquiry into social media and subversive politics.
How can an alternative to liberal democracy and neoliberalism be developed? This question has occ... more How can an alternative to liberal democracy and neoliberalism be developed? This question has occupied a number of political theorists from the Left, including Chantal Mouffe. This paper provides a discussion of Mouffe’s notion of radical democracy by drawing on concepts from Ernesto Laclau’s discourse theory. The paper starts out by providing a detailed description of Mouffe’s model with a focus on its underlying conditions
of possibility. Here, two factors are highlighted: an allegiance to ‘liberty’ and
‘equality’ and a common trust in democratic institutions. By reading these conditions through the work of Laclau, the paper argues for an increased attentiveness towards the ways in which discourses become sedimented and neutralized over time. The paper argues that Mouffe tends to downplay the role of normativity and institutions in favor of democratic practices. Highlighting these areas, this article argues, is a call for a further radicalization of radical democracy going forward.
As governments worldwide become increasingly reliant on digital technologies and e-government, ‘d... more As governments worldwide become increasingly reliant on digital technologies and e-government, ‘digital citizenship’ has become an important topic for research and policy-makers alike. While often described as the contemporary ‘ideal’ of citizenship, research has tended to downplay the normative dimensions of digital citizenship. Counter to such depoliticized approaches, this article argues that the digital citizen is a deeply political figure. Through a discourse-theoretical analysis of Danish governmental digitalization strategies from 2002 to 2015, the article shows how these have relied on a very particular image of the digital citizen. More specifically, we showcase how this figure has reproduced neoliberal conceptions of subjectivity, concerned with efficiency, productivity, individualization and collective responsibilization. By shedding light on these novel links between neoliberal and digital citizenship, the article challenges current views on digitalization. The article foregrounds how digitalization serves to reproduce and recast already-existing political rationalities and must be considered in relation to neoliberal hegemony.
Governments have increasingly turned to digital technologies as a means of rebuilding their publi... more Governments have increasingly turned to digital technologies as a means of rebuilding their public sectors, allowing them to heighten efficiency, cut expenditure, and deliver new services to citizens. However, rather than merely a technical upgrading of governmental institutions, digital reforms and IT policymaking are deeply political practices concerned with producing and imposing certain normative and ideological visions of the social world. Denmark is often labelled as a leading nation in terms of implementing digital governance, but the political and normative dimensions of digital reforms within the Danish welfare state are yet to be systematically investigated. This paper provides a historical study of Danish IT policies from 1994 to 2016. Relying on archival research of national policies and drawing on Pierre Bourdieu's work on the state, we explore how the IT political field has emerged through symbolic struggles over time and how these struggles have produced particular forms of "digital lifestyles ". We find that two overall logics have dominated within the Danish IT political field. In 1994-2001, solidarity, equality and local Danish values were highlighting as core components of a digital life. However, from 2002, economic efficiency, competitiveness and self-governance become the main ideals. In this way, the IT political field has increasingly come to converge with neoliberal discourses concerned with imposing market-like dynamics on the public sector and population. The paper concludes with a reflection on how the concept of digital lifestyles may help us understand these changes.
http://www.triple-c.at/index.php/tripleC/article/view/844/994
Ernesto Laclau's post-Marxist discourse theory is increasingly utilised within media studies in o... more Ernesto Laclau's post-Marxist discourse theory is increasingly utilised within media studies in order to investigate discourses circulating about, within, and through media. Discourse theory has proved itself to be a productive theoretical asset that can yield important empirical insights into the solidification and neutralisation of particular discursive regimes. Yet, the critical potentials of Laclau's theoretical work have often been downplayed or neglected. Instead of offering a fully formed critical theory, Laclau has been relegated to offering a descriptive toolbox in which the underlying critical implications have been either overlooked or forgotten altogether. This paper seeks to reflect on the potentials and obstacles within Laclau's work for critical media studies by engaging with the role of Marxism, capitalism and critique. First, the paper addresses the relation between Marxism and post-Marxism by arguing that rather than abandoning Marxism, Laclau actively situates his own work as a dialogue with and against this tradition. Second, the paper addresses the relation between Laclau's analysis of so-called globalised capitalism and political struggle, which leads to a discussion of class relations and political economy. Third, the paper examines Laclau's notion of ideology critique and argues that it must be seen as a simultaneously explanatory, normative and practical perspective. Based on these discussions, it is this paper's contention that it is insufficient to simply appropriate discourse theory as a descriptive research format, but that it must rather be seen as underlined by a radical critique of existing structures of domination and capitalist subordination. The paper furthermore argues that there are parts of Laclau's work that are problematic for this purpose and needs to receive further attention by future research. By providing an extended discussion of Laclau's own work, this paper seeks to contribute to the critical application of discourse theory within the field of media studies and contribute to the ongoing dialogue between Marxism, post-Marxism, and critical media studies.
As social and political life increasingly takes place on social network sites, new epistemologica... more As social and political life increasingly takes place on social network sites, new epistemological questions have emerged. How can information disseminated through new media be understood and disentangled? How can potential hidden agendas or sources be identified? And what mechanisms govern what and how information is presented to the user? By drawing on existing research on the algorithms and interfaces underlying social network sites, this paper provides a discussion of Facebook and the epistemological challenges, potentials, and questions raised by the platform. The paper specifically discusses the ways in which interfaces shape how information can be accessed and processed by different kinds of users as well as the role of algorithms in pre-selecting what appears as representable information. A key argument of the paper is that Facebook, as a complex socio-technical network of human and non-human actors, has profound epistemological implications for how information can be accessed, understood, and circulated. In this sense, the user's potential acquisition of information is shaped and conditioned by the technological structure of the platform. Building on these arguments, the paper suggests that new epistemological challenges deserve more scholarly attention, as they hold wide implications for both researchers and users.
http://komejournal.com/issues/2016-vol-4-issue-1.html
The emergence of social network sites as a part of everyday life has given rise to a number of de... more The emergence of social network sites as a part of everyday life has given rise to a number of debates on the democratic potential afforded by these technologies. This paper addresses political participation facilitated through Facebook from a practice-oriented perspective and presents a case study of the political grassroots organisation, Fight For The Future. Initially, the paper provides a basic theoretical framework that seeks to map the relation between civic practices, materiality, and discursive features. Using this framework, the article analyses Fight For The Future’s use of Facebook to facilitate political participation. The study finds that user participation on the Facebook page is ‘double conditioned’ by the material structure of the social network site on the one hand and by the discourses articulated by the organisation and users on the other. Finally, the paper discusses the findings and raises a number of problems and obstacles facing participatory grassroots organisations, such as Fight For The Future, when using Facebook.
Book chapters by Jannick Schou
DISINFORMATION AND DIGITAL MEDIA AS A CHALLENGE FOR DEMOCRACY, 2020
Theorizing Digital Divides, 2017
Book reviews and other stuff by Jannick Schou
Call for papers by Jannick Schou
Currently, “data” seems to emerge everywhere and be on everyone’s lips: multiplying, proliferatin... more Currently, “data” seems to emerge everywhere and be on everyone’s lips: multiplying, proliferating and transforming. Shrouded in equal parts hype and anticipation, there seems no end to the capacities of “data.” Nordic welfare states have been avid promoters of the data-driven narrative for quite some time. Some politicians even promote the idea of the welfare state as a data gold mine, and infrastructures are currently developed and deployed across a variety of welfare domains to mine this resource. In a sense, this is nothing new, as welfare states have been bound up with the collection, analysis and use of data for centuries. Censuses and land registers are but some of the techniques used by states to make their populations known. So what, if anything, is changing in our current “data moment”? How is the use of new data-based technologies imagined to change existing welfare institutions and enact new futures? How are data practices currently reconfigured? Might there be anything specific in adopting a Nordic perspective on the ‘data worlds’ that are in the making? And to what extend is research in itself implicated in performing contemporary data imaginaries? STS is in a privileged position to tackle these major societal changes: not only has it developed important conceptual devices for unpacking the entanglement of technological and human practices; it has also paved the way for a reflexive engagement with world-making efforts. In this session, we invite papers that focus on questions of data, governance and welfare from both empirical and conceptual perspectives. The session is open to a diversity of contexts and methodological approaches, though we are particularly keen to see ethnographic contributions that engage reflexively and creatively with emergent data practices. The session also welcomes experimental modes of presentation that playfully subverts and reimagines the dissemination of knowledge.
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Books by Jannick Schou
The dominant narrative of our time is that democracy is in a state of emergency caused by social media, changes to journalism and misinformed masses. This crisis needs to be resolved by reinstating truth at the heart of democracy, even if this means curtailing civic participation and popular sovereignty. Engaging with critical political philosophy, Farkas and Schou argue that these solutions neglect the fact that democracy has never been about truth alone. It is equally about the voice of the democratic people.
Post-Truth, Fake News and Democracy delivers a sobering diagnosis of our times. It maps contemporary discourses on truth and democracy, foregrounds their normative foundations and connects these to historical changes within liberal democracies. The book will be of interest to students and scholars studying the current state and future of democracy, as well as to a politically informed readership.
Advancing a cultural political economic approach, Schou and Hjelholt argue that digitalization is far from a quick technological fix. Instead, this area must be located against wider transformations within the political economy of capitalist states. Doing so, the book excavates the political roots of digitalization and reveals its institutional consequences. It shows how new relations are being formed between the state and its citizens.
Digitalization and Public Sector Transformations pushes for a renewed approach to governmental digitalization and will be of interest to scholars working in the intersections of critical political economy, state theory and policy studies.
https://www.palgrave.com/gp/book/9783319762906
Men hvad vil det sige at blive gjort til og være en digital borger? Hvilke fortællinger, perspektiver og blikke er der på den digitale borger i dag? Og hvordan håndterer det enkelte individ disse nye forventninger i sin dagligdag? Disse spørgsmål undersøger forfatterne i denne bog ved at sætte fokus på den digitale borger som en grundlæggende ny politisk figur i den danske velfærdsstat.
Bogen samler resultaterne fra en række empiriske studier for at give et nuanceret blik på denne nye figur. Den præsenterer et historisk studie af den danske stats politiske arbejde med digitalisering fra 1990’erne og frem til i dag. Den undersøger, hvordan danske borgere oplever digitaliseringen af deres dagligdag. Den sætter fokus på, hvordan danskere med fysiske og kognitive funktionsnedsættelser anvender digitale teknologier i deres hverdag. Og den bevæger sig helt ud i velfærdsstatens frontlinje gennem et studie af danske borgerservicecentre og frontmedarbejdernes håndtering af borgeren. Samlet set tematiserer og belyser disse nedslagspunkter på forskellig vis, hvad det vil sige at være en digital borger i dagens Danmark.
Bogens målgruppe er alle, der er interesserede i overgangen til digitale samfund. Den er skrevet til praktikere i velfærdsstaten og til studerende på videregående uddannelser, som ønsker at forstå digitaliseringens mange betydninger.
http://hansreitzel.dk/Kommunikation/Den-digitale-borger/9788741268125
Articles by Jannick Schou
of possibility. Here, two factors are highlighted: an allegiance to ‘liberty’ and
‘equality’ and a common trust in democratic institutions. By reading these conditions through the work of Laclau, the paper argues for an increased attentiveness towards the ways in which discourses become sedimented and neutralized over time. The paper argues that Mouffe tends to downplay the role of normativity and institutions in favor of democratic practices. Highlighting these areas, this article argues, is a call for a further radicalization of radical democracy going forward.
http://www.triple-c.at/index.php/tripleC/article/view/844/994
http://komejournal.com/issues/2016-vol-4-issue-1.html
Book chapters by Jannick Schou
Book reviews and other stuff by Jannick Schou
Call for papers by Jannick Schou
The dominant narrative of our time is that democracy is in a state of emergency caused by social media, changes to journalism and misinformed masses. This crisis needs to be resolved by reinstating truth at the heart of democracy, even if this means curtailing civic participation and popular sovereignty. Engaging with critical political philosophy, Farkas and Schou argue that these solutions neglect the fact that democracy has never been about truth alone. It is equally about the voice of the democratic people.
Post-Truth, Fake News and Democracy delivers a sobering diagnosis of our times. It maps contemporary discourses on truth and democracy, foregrounds their normative foundations and connects these to historical changes within liberal democracies. The book will be of interest to students and scholars studying the current state and future of democracy, as well as to a politically informed readership.
Advancing a cultural political economic approach, Schou and Hjelholt argue that digitalization is far from a quick technological fix. Instead, this area must be located against wider transformations within the political economy of capitalist states. Doing so, the book excavates the political roots of digitalization and reveals its institutional consequences. It shows how new relations are being formed between the state and its citizens.
Digitalization and Public Sector Transformations pushes for a renewed approach to governmental digitalization and will be of interest to scholars working in the intersections of critical political economy, state theory and policy studies.
https://www.palgrave.com/gp/book/9783319762906
Men hvad vil det sige at blive gjort til og være en digital borger? Hvilke fortællinger, perspektiver og blikke er der på den digitale borger i dag? Og hvordan håndterer det enkelte individ disse nye forventninger i sin dagligdag? Disse spørgsmål undersøger forfatterne i denne bog ved at sætte fokus på den digitale borger som en grundlæggende ny politisk figur i den danske velfærdsstat.
Bogen samler resultaterne fra en række empiriske studier for at give et nuanceret blik på denne nye figur. Den præsenterer et historisk studie af den danske stats politiske arbejde med digitalisering fra 1990’erne og frem til i dag. Den undersøger, hvordan danske borgere oplever digitaliseringen af deres dagligdag. Den sætter fokus på, hvordan danskere med fysiske og kognitive funktionsnedsættelser anvender digitale teknologier i deres hverdag. Og den bevæger sig helt ud i velfærdsstatens frontlinje gennem et studie af danske borgerservicecentre og frontmedarbejdernes håndtering af borgeren. Samlet set tematiserer og belyser disse nedslagspunkter på forskellig vis, hvad det vil sige at være en digital borger i dagens Danmark.
Bogens målgruppe er alle, der er interesserede i overgangen til digitale samfund. Den er skrevet til praktikere i velfærdsstaten og til studerende på videregående uddannelser, som ønsker at forstå digitaliseringens mange betydninger.
http://hansreitzel.dk/Kommunikation/Den-digitale-borger/9788741268125
of possibility. Here, two factors are highlighted: an allegiance to ‘liberty’ and
‘equality’ and a common trust in democratic institutions. By reading these conditions through the work of Laclau, the paper argues for an increased attentiveness towards the ways in which discourses become sedimented and neutralized over time. The paper argues that Mouffe tends to downplay the role of normativity and institutions in favor of democratic practices. Highlighting these areas, this article argues, is a call for a further radicalization of radical democracy going forward.
http://www.triple-c.at/index.php/tripleC/article/view/844/994
http://komejournal.com/issues/2016-vol-4-issue-1.html
This PhD course seeks to offer a space for critically engaging with, against and in the midst of contemporary data worlds. The course will focus specifically on what it means to think through issues of social justice in relation to specific data situations and practices. Beyond inherited ideals of universal rights and equality, what are the specific and situated challenges posed by emerging data worlds? How do data influence the distribution of life chances, resources and opportunities? How is data implicated in making certain lives worth living, while others are excluded or made invisible? How and to what extend do certain data sets and their modes of ordering become authoritative regimes of enunciation and what worlds are silenced by this? By working through such issues, the course introduces students to ongoing conversations in anthropology, critical data studies and STS. It offers a series of concepts and methods that can help build socially just and analytically robust engagements with emerging data worlds, explicitly searching for experimental openings in our ways of relating to all things digital.