Digital sovereignty and Central and Eastern Europe: agency, structural disadvantage and digital politics at EU’s (semi-)periphery

This introductory article starts from the observation that the scholarship on EU digital sovereignty (DS) has so far overlooked the region of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). This is both an academic and a political problem, as it not only impoverishes our understanding of EU digital politics, but also reinforces existing hierarchies. The article theorises the position of CEE in the EU, combining the literatures on small states and the hierarchical structure of transnational capitalism. It argues that the condition of CEE states is characterised by a dual disadvantage, as most of them are small and dependent at the same time, and discusses how this relates to digital sovereignty. Reviewing the individual articles in this special issue, it highlights the difference in conceptualisations of DS in CEE, and the ways how agency is exercised from the context of dual structural disadvantage. Thereby, this special issue makes a twofold contribution. First, it pluralises the research on EU digital sovereignty. Second, responding to the calls for decolonising the debate on CEE, it sheds light on the more general dynamics of hierarchies in European politics.