Digital Futures Between Participatory Digital Democracy and Participatory Digital Fascism

ABSTRACT This paper explores one of the defining political questions of the twenty‐first century: will digital technologies strengthen democracy or accelerate new forms of authoritarianism and fascism? Against the backdrop of platform capitalism, AI‐driven communication, surveillance infrastructures, disinformation and democratic crisis, the study asks how experts in digital democracy assess the present condition and possible futures of digital society. To address this question, the paper draws on the Futures of Digital Democracy Survey (FDDS), a two‐round international expert survey involving researchers, practitioners and civil society actors working in the fields of digital democracy, media, Internet governance and digital society. Combining futures research, scenario analysis, and qualitative and quantitative content analysis, the study investigates competing trajectories of digital development ranging from participatory digital democracy to corporate and state‐controlled digital fascism. The findings reveal a profound tension at the heart of contemporary digital society: while respondents overwhelmingly imagine an ideal future democracy in participatory and deliberative terms—centred on citizens’ assemblies, digital participation, public‐service Internet platforms and democratic AI—they simultaneously express deep pessimism about the actual direction of digital capitalism and platform power. Experts consider authoritarian and fascistic digital futures significantly more likely than democratic ones. The paper analyses these contradictions by examining the relationship between deliberative democracy, constitutional rights, platform governance, digital commons, public service media, AI, surveillance and the political economy of Big Tech. It argues that democracy in the digital age can only survive if participatory and deliberative digital structures are institutionally combined with constitutional safeguards, public ownership, democratic regulation and the defence of human rights. By bringing together debates on digital democracy, authoritarianism, political economy and digital futures, the paper offers both a critical diagnosis of the contemporary digital condition and a normative vision of democratic alternatives in the age of AI and platform capitalism.