The Liberal Internet in the Postliberal Era

“This book tackles the important and timely question of how societies should address the post-liberal turn in our near-global digital informatization politics… it is a compelling and important piece of work, expertly executed, and embedded in a thorough understanding of relevant debates and developments.” - Florian Schneider, Professor of Modern China, Leiden University This book begins with an examination of the internet as a central institution of the post-Cold War liberal order. From this starting point, Johannes Thumfart analyzes the contemporary rise of digital sovereignty in Asia and Europe, alongside the establishment of private government within digital networks. He interprets these phenomena as indications of an emerging postliberal era. Thumfart engages with a wide array of empirical research and assesses liberal ideals such as state and net neutrality by discussing thinkers like Hegel, Schmitt, Mouffe, Taylor, Sandel, Fukuyama, Anderson, and Jasanoff, as well as network and rational choice theories. He contends that the internet's reification of liberal values has, paradoxically, subverted these values and catalyzed the transition to postliberalism. Thumfart suggests that instead of adhering to the traditional liberal focus on neutrality, states should adopt a more flexible approach of neutralization to respond to the complexities of this digital and postliberal era. Johannes Thumfart works at the intersection of STS studies, philosophy, international law, and international security. He is a fellow at the research group Law, Science, Technology and Society (LSTS) at Vrije Universiteit Brussel. His research has been published in diverse journals such as Global Studies Quarterly, AI and Ethics, the Journal of Global Security Studies, Grotiana, and the European Journal of International Security. He worked at universities in Germany, France, Mexico, and the US.