Digital State Transformation: How Cybersecurity, Cryptocurrency, and Artificial Intelligence are Reshaping the State

Abstract

In this article, we ask whether state transformation is occurring as a consequence of digital technology adoption. We draw on the state formation literature to generate criteria for identifying instances of state transformation. In such cases, states (1) adopt new norms, policies, laws, and regulations; (2) create or reorganize bureaucracies and/or military units; and (3) promulgate and/or accept new ideas about the role of the state and the nature of state-society relations. We conduct a plausibility probe of digital policy in Kazakhstan (a middle-income country influenced by Russia and China more than by Western states), to determine whether the case matches our criteria. We find evidence of each of the three indicators, and we also show that the country’s ongoing processes of digital state transformation played a major role in serious political unrest in January 2022. We further show that these state transformation processes continued after the unrest, and that artificial intelligence efforts have become increasingly central to state transformation. The paper concludes by assessing the significance of our findings and avenues for further research.