This paper revisits Forsthoff’s concept of Daseinsvorsorge within today’s digital ecosystem, analyzing how essential technological infrastructures are currently controlled by transnational private powers. This asymmetry generates a ‘diminished sovereignty’ for European States, which are forced to depend on external actors to guarantee their own essential services. Through the case study of the Gaia-X project, the essay highlights the structural limitations and contradictions of European attempts to regain strategic and infrastructural autonomy, raising an issue of democratic and constitutional oversight that goes beyond mere antitrust regulation.
THE STRUGGLE FOR DIGITAL DASEINSVORSORGE: AUTONOMY AND INFRASTRUCTURAL DEPENDENCE IN EUROPE IN THE AGE OF DIGITAL POWERS. THE GAIA-X PROJECT AS A CASE STUDY
Vincenzo Peluso
2026
Abstract
This paper revisits Forsthoff’s concept of Daseinsvorsorge within today’s digital ecosystem, analyzing how essential technological infrastructures are currently controlled by transnational private powers. This asymmetry generates a ‘diminished sovereignty’ for European States, which are forced to depend on external actors to guarantee their own essential services. Through the case study of the Gaia-X project, the essay highlights the structural limitations and contradictions of European attempts to regain strategic and infrastructural autonomy, raising an issue of democratic and constitutional oversight that goes beyond mere antitrust regulation.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
