Issue Watch point: digital communities rewrite the social contract and civic attachment

Summary

This issue is the first watch point in the report's story about evolving notions of statehood and citizenship. Digital nations and online communities could change how people understand the social contract. They could reshape ideas about the rights and responsibilities of citizens. National attachment and what it means to take part in civic life could also be redefined. The watch point builds on examples such as network states, digital nomad visas and an Indigenous metaverse in Canada. It suggests that the bond between citizen and state may become less exclusive and more negotiable.