New book examines the relationship between technology, the welfare state, and everyday life
In the Danish book The Citizen in the Digital Welfare State, Irina Papazu and Morten Hjelholt from the IT University of Copenhagen and Anja Svejgaard Pors from University College Copenhagen investigate how public digitalisation has transformed the relationship between citizens and the state.
Researchdigitizationseniors
Written 10 June, 2026 08:55 by Jari Kickbusch
How is the increasingly digital welfare state experienced by citizens? What do digital systems, platforms, and automated decisions mean for citizens’ encounters with the public sector? These are some of the central questions explored in The Citizen in the Digital Welfare State (Danish title: Borgeren i den digitale velfærdsstat), written by Associate Professor Irina Papazu, Professor and Head of Research Morten Hjelholt (both from the IT University of Copenhagen), and Associate Professor Anja Svejgaard Pors from University College Copenhagen.
The digitalised everyday life
The book is based on the extensive digitalisation of the Danish welfare state and focuses on how digital solutions not only streamline administration and welfare institutions such as hospitals, daycare centres, and citizen services, but also shape the relationship between citizens and the state. Instead of viewing digitalisation as merely a technical or organisational issue, the authors analyse how digital systems intervene in citizens’ daily lives, their opportunities, and access to welfare.
“It is important to understand how digital systems intervene in our everyday lives, because they are no longer just practical tools. They have become part of the way the welfare state meets its citizens. When citizens must interact with the welfare state through digital self-service solutions, it becomes crucial to understand who these systems work for and who they make life harder for,” says Professor and Head of Research at ITU Morten Hjelholt.
Inclusion, responsibility, and power
“What has been overlooked both politically and socially is that digitalisation has created a new relationship between citizens and the state, as technology has been placed at the centre of the interaction. It has brought the state into our pockets and right into our living rooms for some of us. But many experience a state that is further away and perhaps completely inaccessible, because contact with the state depends on mastering digital systems and devices. Figures from the Danish Agency for Digital Government from 2021 show that up to 22% of us have difficulties handling digital systems. This can, for example, result in people not applying for benefits they are entitled to, because the application process is digitalised,” says Associate Professor Irina Papazu.
Digitalised welfare from the citizen’s perspective
The book is characterised by the three authors’ focus on how digitalisation is experienced from a citizen’s perspective and how digital welfare solutions are actually used, understood, and experienced in practice. It becomes clear that digitalisation is not neutral, but helps shape how citizens can act, which choices appear possible, and how responsibility is distributed between the individual and the system.
“It is an important point in the book that it is not only already vulnerable groups who are excluded or overburdened in the digital welfare state. Even resourceful citizens encounter difficulties when they must give up trying to understand the latest property assessment or why they must pay a certain amount back in taxes this year. When we interact with welfare state institutions, digitalisation has created new tasks and new layers of written communication between citizens and welfare professionals, such as teachers, nurses, and doctors, which affect both working hours and everyday life. We are expected to read test results from our doctor at the kitchen table, and if we have children, we must deal with a constant stream of messages and pictures on Aula. The digital citizen and employee never have time off,” says Irina Papazu.
The Danish Democracy and Power Study 2.0
The Citizen in the Digital Welfare State was published on 28 May 2026 and is part of The Danish Democracy and Power Study 2.0, a project initiated by the Danish Parliament.
The Danish Democracy and Power Study 2.0 aims to generate research-based knowledge about the state of democracy and the transformation of power in the 21st century. The goal is to provide decision-makers and the general public with relevant insights through books, policy briefs, podcasts, and lectures, helping to strengthen Danish democracy.
You can download the book, The Citizen in the Digital Welfare State, for free as a PDF here.
Jari Kickbusch, phone 7218 5304, email jark@itu.dk