A liberal political philosophy of British digital identity systems

Smith, CH

Thesis

A liberal political philosophy of British digital identity systems

Abstract:: This thesis evaluates the British state’s national digital identity systems using the tools of liberal political philosophy for the first time. Such systems are becoming ubiquitous, with public and private institutions alike looking to embrace people via computerised methods. We are increasingly asked to digitally prove who we are, confirm our age, and authorise transactions by all manner of services. Especially when interacting with government, these tools are rapidly replacing the analogue systems that civil servants have traditionally relied upon to ‘know’ citizens. Yet the transition has not been easy. Over the past twenty-five years, successive British governments have twice now rolled-out expensive, national systems—each underpinned by a different digital identity architecture—only to see their attempts fail. Nevertheless, the incoming Labour government looks set on deploying a recombinant take on what has come before. If they are to be successful, and avoid the mistakes of the past, lessons therefore remain to be learnt.

Political philosophy has much to say here. But while other disciplines have contributed to the discourse, philosophers have neglected to take note of digital identity systems. This is despite the fact that they raise normative issues of interest to any theorist: questions of freedom and control, access and inclusion, surveillance and privacy. Addressing this oversight, using an empirically-informed version of the method of reflective equilibrium, I construct a novel, liberal-democratic rationalisation of contemporary British digital identity policy. Drawing on fifty-one qualitative interviews conducted with a range of public and private sector stakeholders, I analyse the deeply normative reasons for Britain’s uniquely troubled history with identification systems. I then deploy this analysis to generate a coherent policy position, resolving a series of interlinked normative dilemmas: unchecked central oversight, persistent exclusion, and neoliberal economisation. The result should interest theorists, identity experts, and policymakers alike.

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APA Style

Smith, C. H. (2024). A liberal political philosophy of British digital identity systems [PhD thesis]. University of Oxford.

MLA Style

Smith, C. H. A Liberal Political Philosophy of British Digital Identity Systems. University of Oxford, 2024.

Chicago Style

Smith, CH. 2024. “A Liberal Political Philosophy of British Digital Identity Systems.” PhD thesis, University of Oxford.
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