Digital Migration As The End Of The Nation State
Does a country consist only of it’s physical residents? E-residency in Estonia.
Imagine a world where your physical self is no more important than your virtual self. A world where you can sign important documents without being present, or start a company in a country you have never been to. The world is becoming more globalized as the differences between different countries are made marginal by the use of the Internet, and the concept of the nation state is being seriously challenged by the process of (digital) migration.
Already in December 2014, Estonia opened its digital borders to citizens of all other countries by introducing the concept of e-residency. This means that anyone can apply for an ID card that gives them access to the country’s advanced digital services. People who have the card can benefit from services such as creating their company in the EU in just half an hour, filling their income tax returns in minutes, opening a bank account in the EU or adding an EU-approved digital signature to documents.
The future is in Estonia. Such a concept allows all third country citizens to involve themselves in the EU economy without having to pass through lengthy bureaucratic processes or without even having to apply for a visa. The management of a company for example can all be done from far away. Such an opportunity asks a very philosophical question — whether a person’s physical presence has an importance over one’s virtual self. It also asks whether a nation consists only of its physical residents, or whether its virtual residents can also be considered as part of the nation if their economic activities are very closely related to the country.
It has long been argued that the notion of a nation state might be obsolete if it holds to its traditional definition of strong ethno-cultural requirements. Such an obsolescence seems inevitable in the light of international integration and the rise of “global citizens”. The possible rise of digital migrants poses a new challenge for the upholding of the nation state. It is proposed that the definition of a nation state should be a continuous as opposed to a static one and allow for the country to stay an integrated community of citizens who can identify themselves with the country but also keep their cultural differences.
As of now, the e-residency of Estonia is said to be a privilege and not a right, meaning that it offers e-residents access to several services but does not offer citizenship, serve as a travel document or grant the right to participate in elections. Thus, it does not allow a physical migration into the EU. However, it does open up its digital borders, meaning that a person can now at least digitally enter the region. It brings forth a question whether digital migrants could be almost as important as physical ones as they could potentially affect at lease the Estonian economic sphere.
The current vision is to have 10 million e-residents by 2025. It is an ambitious plan but also a competitive one, and once the concept has proven successful, other countries may follow suit. Competition for such digital services may give rise to some upgraded versions of e-residency where countries may offer more rights in order to get people to invest in their services. The time may not be far when digital services could be accompanied by rights of entry or perhaps even electoral rights.
Although this may appear to be a dystopian scenario, the EU actually already allows the citizens of all member states to participate in municipal election, and some grant the rights to non-EU residents. The right of entry does seems like a less realistic idea. Should Estonia offer it to its e-residents, for example, its citizens would probably not even be able to enter the neighboring Finland without a visa. Nevertheless, it is certain that in the light of new concepts such as e-residency, the notion of digital migrations is gaining more and more ground and should be further discussed.