The political economy of the digital age: A literature review on the interaction between citizens, enterprises, and the state

Information plays an essential role in state governance. Digital technologies have transformed the process of collecting, utilising and disseminating information in the digital age, leading to changes in state governance and the content of political ­economy. This paper tries to comprehensively summarise the impact of digital technologies on state governance, with a focus on three questions: First, how does social media influence the relationship between the state and citizens? Second, how do platform companies influence the relationship between the state and ­businesses? Third, how does the digital government influence the relationship between the state and society? Generally, the existing literature reaches consensus on the following three points: First, although digital technologies enhance citizens’ ability to supervise the government, they overall benefit the government by ­consolidating its power. Second, platform companies have an informational advantage that easily places them in a monopolistic position; therefore, regulation should be strengthened in order to protect citizens’ privacy, promote market competition, and safeguard national security. Third, digital technologies are widely adopted in government departments, but that has also raised concerns among scholars about algorithmic discrimination and the possibility that the government may turn into a digital leviathan. In the concluding section, we put forward four suggestions for the future research.