Permeable Frontiers and Impermeable Boundaries at the Digital Level: the Digital Agenda for Europe, the EU’s Electronic Frontier
Permeable Frontiers and Impermeable Boundaries at the Digital Level: the Digital Agenda for Europe, the EU’s Electronic Frontier

Summary/Abstract: The electronic frontier is an abstract concept, directly tied to the issues of globalisation and ICT technologies. However, an electronic frontier is not a barrier, rather an axis which connects the virtual world, the World Wide Web, to the real one and helps push boundaries of technology further. Besides its innovative concerns, the electronic frontier is a type of socio-economic frontier, which, acting as an axis, can bring economic benefits to a society and create social inclusion, as it is based on cooperation and collaboration. This article explores one such electronic frontier, the document known as the Digital Agenda for Europe, part of the EU’s Europe 2020 strategy for growth, inclusion and economic governance. By analysing the EU’s official documents, this paper conceptualizes the concept of electronic frontier and argues that the Digital Agenda aims to push impermeable socio-economic boundaries, such as lack of access to the Internet, in order to create economic growth for the EU and promote social inclusion among European citizens. The exploration of the Europe’s 2020 strategy for smart growth at the digital level will bring about the conclusion that the Digital Agenda for Europe is the EU’s electronic frontier and, through its actions and objectives, it can be a meaningful solution for EU’s progress both internally and internationally.

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