Who’s at stake? The (non)performativity of “stakeholders” in UK tech policy

The term "stakeholder" features prominently in discourses surrounding tech policy. It is used as a marker for engaging with wider organisations and publics beyond government and the companies that make technologies. But what does this term do in practice? What roles does it create or deny, what power structures does it open or close? This study of 194 tech policy documents produced by the UK government over a span of five years uncovers the different ways the term "stakeholder" is used in practice. By comparing the use of the word with whose ideas are actually cited in the documents, it highlights the discursive gaps between what is claimed and what is represented in the voices that shape policy. The results are analysed through queer performativity, including institutional non-performativity and peri-performative framings, to assess the roles that are imposed on different groups, and the different hierarchies and power structures the stakeholder constructs in current UK policy practices.