THE SOVEREIGN'S DILEMMA: PLATFORM GOVERNANCE AND DIGITAL SOVEREIGNTY FROM A GLOBAL SOUTH PERSPECTIVE

Abstract

The prevailing academic discussion of platform governance has been largely structured around the opposing paradigm of the American free-speech framework and the European regulatory framework. This dualistic construct, however, does not capture the complexities of the realities and particular issues of the Global South. As hypothesized in this paper, a radical change in thinking is necessary to create a more globally relevant conceptualization of platform governance, including shifting the emphasis towards the sovereign issues of post-colonial states. Using Pakistan as a focus case study, we explore the ways in which concerns of national security, political stability, and compliance with religious-cultural norms often override Western principles of unregulated expression. This paper, in its initial stage, questions the prevailing Western paradigms using a critical literature review. It then dismantles these paradigms by applying a Global South perspective to elucidate individual cases of platform-state confrontation in Pakistan. Our study is a part of this ongoing discourse since it suggests a more comparative, culturally-sensitive, and context-focused approach to research by proposing a decolonized research agenda. The aim of this work is to overcome a Eurocentric focus, and advocate a pluralistic approach enhancing the global perspective of digital sovereignty in the increasingly connected world.