Dissertation
Digital Force: Life, Liberty & Livelihood in the Information Age
On 9 May 2018, Roy van Keulen defended his doctoral thesis 'Digital Force: Life, Liberty & Livelihood in the Information Age'. The doctoral research was supervised by Prof. dr. A. Ellian.
- Author
- Roy van Keulen
- Date
- 09 May 2018
- Links
- Leiden Repository
States have historically often tried to use force to capture valuable pieces of territory from other States. In the agricultural age, this would often be material resources, such as fertile agricultural land or rich fishing fields. In the industrial age, it would often concern energy resources, such as coal or oil. In the modern information age, States are trying to capture value from other States by capturing intellectual resources, such as techniques and technologies.
The most important conclusions and recommendations are that we, as a society entering the Information Age, need to attain a more fundamental understanding of the political philosophical principles which create the incentives to structure our society and a more fundamental understanding of the gravity of our transition into the Information Age. Following from this understanding it is recommended that the State assumes sovereign responsibilities to protect life, liberty and property of its citizens in the domain of cyberspace, despite the international character of cyberspace. The nation State remains the best vehicle for elevating the human condition.