Government resilience in the digital age

Our latest white paper argues that without robust digital infrastructure, states are vulnerable to collapse when faced with the next inevitable disruption.

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Challenges to the continuity of the state

As threats to the physical territory of liberal and democratically aligned states continue to grow from conflict and other factors, it is important to think through how to build more robust and resilient digital states.

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Democratic stability and service continuity during crises

We are living in times of multiple crises. Pandemics, conflicts, and climate change are testing the resilience of our institutions and democracy. Nearly 30% of governments in Europe had to postpone elections during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020-2021, highlighting the need for digital continuity of state functions in the face of challenges. As a result, policymakers are now making large investments into their digital capabilities to ensure the digital continuity of state functions during times of crisis. The future of resilient governance lies in building digital states that can operate and deliver services from anywhere, withstanding threats in both physical and virtual worlds.

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Building digital resilience

The seven key policies suggested in the study are intended to help build and strengthen the resilience of a state’s digital infrastructure. If built properly, a sufficiently resilient digital state could run its core and critical digital services even if there was a temporary or more long-term loss of its physical territory due to a crisis.

To remain relevant, states must digitalize

As states undergo the transformation into new digital states, it is of the utmost importance to think strategically about how to build robust and resilient digital infrastructure. These recommendations, if adopted, will help to ensure that a digital state can function even when facing the worst of crises.

  1. Digital-first approach to public services and registries related to the continuity of the state.
  2. Transition to public sector jobs that can operate in a remote-first or remote-enabled manner.
  3. Prioritizing the security of digital infrastructure and services.
  4. Resilience in connectivity by viewing internet access as critical infrastructure.
  5. Reduced opportunities for physical damage to disrupt their digital operations.
  6. Managed third-party risk without limiting opportunities for technological innovation.
  7. A whole-of-government approach to developing digital resilience.

Dr Keegan McBride, Lecturer in AI, Government, and Policy, Oxford Internet Institute

States that adopt our recommendations will be rewarded with a resilient digital state. This is something that is now only possible due to technology. It also represents the need to shift how we think about states in this new digital world where digital is no longer tied to the physical boundaries of a nation.

Discover how digital resilience can safeguard your state’s future

This white paper, “Government Resilience in the Digital Age,” was published on 20 November, 2024 during a keynote presentation at the Tallinn Digital Summit by co-authors Andres Raieste, Senior Vice President, Public Sector (Global) at Nortal and Dr Keegan McBride, Lecturer in AI, Government, and Policy at the Oxford Internet Institute. The report draws on insights from experts at the Oxford Internet Institute, Nortal, the Estonian Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications, and the Estonian IT Centre. 

Building and investing in a better, stronger, and more resilient digital future

This report represents a first step in the process of building resilient digital states, challenging the existing conceptualisation of what it means to be a state in today’s digital age. To aid this conceptual exercise, the report identifies several scenarios states may encounter in the decades ahead and explores how digital technologies could be used to overcome them.

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Data Resilience whitepaper

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Discover how states can leverage digital technologies to navigate crises, strengthen governance, and secure their place in the digital world order.

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Personal Government: Digital's next step

Over two decades government systems have moved from analog to digital. We now stand on the brink of the post-digital era, where public services will be citizen-centric, personalized, equitable, and fully sustainable.

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Learn more about how to build a human-centered government, provide a better public service experience and efficient public administration.

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