Reclaiming Digital Sovereignty

Abstract Why has the policy idea of mandating digital platforms with the procedural enforcement of national laws proven to be so widely appealing? This article employs an instrumental case study of Germany’s NetzDG and develops a power-integrated multiple streams approach to examine the power dynamics between nation-states and big tech platforms in the development of digital policy. Drawing on 26 elite interviews, document analysis, and process tracing, the research uncovers a tug-of-war over sovereignty in the digital sphere. This struggle is characterized by the state’s objectives to reclaim power, continuous contention over key resources, and the critical role of policy entrepreneurs, all of which profoundly shape contemporary technology regulations.