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Overthrowing The Network State: How to Optimize for RealityMarch 27, 2023Overthrowing The Network State: “How to optimize for reality?” with Michael Zargham We are thrilled to announce the newest episode of Overthrowing The Network State (OTNS), featuring Michael Zargham, the CEO of Block Science. The Blockchain Socialist, Primavera De Filippi, and their guest continue their efforts to overthrow the ontological framework of network states from the perspective of complex systems engineering. During the discussion, they delve into the concept of how network states don’t optimize for reality and the importance of not confusing the map with the territory. Finally, they explore how an alternative to network states should handle infrastructures and the potential impact that this could have on our society. Michael Zargham brings a wealth of knowledge and experience, making for an insightful and thought-provoking conversation. Stay tuned for more episodes of OTNS! You can find the previous episodes and additional content on The Blockchain Socialist website. [...]
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Overthrowing The Network State: Dictatorship by Tech CEO with Nathan SchneiderMarch 13, 2023Overthrowing The Network State: Dictatorship by Tech CEO with Nathan Schneider Overthrowing The Network State: Dictatorship by Tech CEO with Nathan Schneider We are excited to announce the 6th episode of Overthrowing The Network State (OTNS) featuring returning guest Nathan Schneider, who joins The Blockchain Socialist and Primavera de Filippi, to discuss his experience at ETH Denver and the limitations of using tech venture capital as a model for governance. In this episode, they explore new political possibilities and the importance of being intentional in the approach. They dive deep into the issues surrounding the use of venture capital as a governance model and the potential drawbacks that come with it. As part of our ongoing collaboration with The Blockchain Socialist, OTNS aims to critique The Network State by Balaji Srinivasan while highlighting the more significant concepts surrounding how these technologies could subvert state structures. Make sure to tune in for this insightful discussion with Nathan Schneider and stay tuned for more episodes of OTNS. You can find the previous episodes and additional content on The Blockchain Socialist website. [...]
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Overthrowing The Network State: Colonize the Memes, the Narratives, and the LandMarch 7, 2023Overthrowing The Network State: Colonize the Memes, the Narratives, and the Land Check out the latest episode of Overthrowing the Network State (OTNS)! In this episode, Primavera de Filippi and Morshed Mannan joined The Blockchain Socialist to speak with Raymond Craib, a historian of modern Latin America and author of Adventure Capitalism: A History of Libertarian Exit, from the Era of Decolonization to the Digital Age. They delve into the neocolonialism inherent in network states, previous attempts at utopian libertarian exits, the colonization of history, and the concept of Praxis Society. You can listen to the podcast on the player below, and find all the other episodes on The Blockchain Socialist Website! [...]
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Overthrowing The Network State: Untangling Balaji’s Helical Theory of HistoryFebruary 28, 2023Overthrowing The Network State: Untangling Balaji’s Helical Theory of History Be sure not to miss the latest Overthrowing the Network State (OTNS) episode! Technology historian Quinn DuPont joins the Blockchain Socialist and Keslie Nabben to discuss his recent critiques of TNS at the Commons Stack Unconference and his article on A Progressive Web3. Together, they delve into Balaji’s misinterpretations of history and suggest the commons as an alternative framework to what is already occurring in certain aspects of web3. Check out this episode, along with previous ones, by clicking here! [...]
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Overthrowing The Network State: Survival of the Richest with Douglas RushkoffFebruary 13, 2023The third Episode of “Overthrowing the Network State” with Douglas Rushkoff has been published! We are excited to announce that the third episode of the “Overthrowing the Network State” podcast series is out now! In this episode, Primavera De Filippi and The Blockchain Socialist welcome Douglas Rushkoff, a renowned writer, and documentarian who studies human autonomy in the digital age. Rushkoff, named one of the “world’s ten most influential intellectuals” by MIT, joins the conversation to discuss “The Network State” by Balaji Srinivasan. Click here to listen to the podcast! Missed the previous episodes? No problem! You can find them all on The Blockchain Socialist website as well! [...]
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Overthrowing The Network State: Forming New Publics and Pluralism with Glen WeylFebruary 7, 2023Exploring Alternatives: The Second Episode of Overthrowing The Network State is Here! We’re thrilled to announce the release of the second episode of the podcast series “Overthrowing The Network State“. In this episode, Primavera de Filippi and The Blockchain Socialist welcome Glen Weyl, the founder of RadicalxChange and co-author of Vitalik Buterin’s article on Decentralized Society. In the first episode of #OTNS, they introduced Balaji Srinivasan’s book “The Network State” and shared our initial criticisms and alternatives. This time, they delve deeper into the oversimplifications in the book and explore Glen’s alternative vision for a networked society. If you haven’t already, check out the first episode of OTNS. Now, tune in to the second episode of ONTS and discover more about these topics! [...]
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BlockchainGov Observations on PoH DAO GovernanceFebruary 3, 2023Jamilya Kamalova, Sofia Cossar, Tara Merk. In early 2021, the first Sybil-resistant registry of humans was launched. The Proof of Humanity (PoH) registry and the PoH DAO is the first decentralized autonomous organization democratically governed running on the Ethereum network. To help us conduct this research, we relied on academic articles from a lot of different disciplines, such as political science, digital ethnography, democratic theory (especially literature conceptualizing Western liberal democracies to make sense of our empirical observations and findings), but also studies on blockchain systems and blockchain-based governance. The problem of this research is: What governance dynamics led to the Proof of Humanity DAO’s crisis and decision to fork? Our theory was that such a decision came from a persistent governance crisis caused by the absence of strong democratic elements, procedures, regulations, and institutions that could have supported the coexistence of its diverse community rather than leading to its growing and ultimately irreparable division. So we conducted this ethnographic study involving online observation, interviews, events, and institutional analysis. Participants signed community consent forms under BlockchainGov’s research ethics, approved by EUI/CERSA, and agreed to the use and publication of data collected about the PoH DAO community for this research project. Read the paper to discover more about our findings! This document is available in English and Spanish. Ethnographic Research of Proof of Humanity DAO – Full Document of Findings Investigación Etnográfica de Proof of Humanity DAO Documento Completo de Hallazgos Finally, feel free to express any feedback by filling up this document. [...]
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Overthrowing The Network State: An Initial Critique and AlternativesJanuary 29, 2023The first episode podcast series “Overthrowing The Network State” has finally been released. Hosted by The Blockchain Socialist and Primavera de Filippi, this series takes a deep dive into the world of Balaji Srinivasan’s latest book, “Overthrowing The Network State“. In this first episode, Primavera and The Blockchain Socialist provide a quick overview of Balaji Srinivasan and some of his book’s key concepts while sharing their initial objections and criticisms. This podcast series aims not just to offer critique but also to provide a distinct conceptual framework for understanding why some readers might find the book appealing. Listen to the first episode of « Overthrowing The Network State » by clicking here! [...]
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Report on blockchain technology & legitimacyDecember 13, 2022Report on blockchain technology & legitimacy Dr. Primavera De Filippi, Dr. Morshed Mannan, Jack Henderson, Tara Merk, Sofia Cossar, Kelsie Nabben This report synthesizes the insights explored within the ERC BlockchainGov reading group on “Legitimacy in Blockchain,” taking place bi-weekly from July 2021 until June 2022. The report investigates the role of legitimacy in blockchain systems from descriptive, conceptual, and normative perspectives. It summarizes the discussions and provides recommendations concerning the role of legitimacy in blockchain systems drawing from the talks held by the reading group. The organizers of the reading group are part of several initiatives, including a five-year-long (2021-2026), EU-funded (ERC grant of €2M) on ‘Blockchain Gov’ at the CNRS (France)/EUI (Italy), a Future Fellowship project funded by the Australian Research Council on ‘Cooperation through Code’ at RMIT (Australia) and the Coalition of Automated Legal Applications (COALA). The “Legitimacy in Blockchain” report is one of a series that includes the “Blockchain Technology, Trust, and Confidence” report (De Filippi et al., 2022) and “Blockchain Technology & Polycentric Governance” report (De Filippi et al., forthcoming). RSC_REPORT_08_12_2Download [...]
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Blockchain Technology, Trust & ConfidenceDecember 13, 2022Primavera de Filippi, Morshed Mannan, Wessel Reijers, Paula Berman, Jack Henderson Reinterpreting Trust in a Trustless system? ABSTRACT This report provides an in-depth analysis of the theoretical foundations of the concepts of trust and confidence and their correlation to the notions of risk, agency and legitimacy. These theoretical underpinnings are thereafter applied to permissionless blockchains, in order to identify how the foundational nature of the technology lends itself to bridging traditional paradigms in generating greater trust and confidence amongst users. We first review the literature which distinguishes the concept of trustfrom confidence before turning to major scholarly contributions on interpersonal trust, system trust and trust in technology. This literature has been examined through the lens of a multi-disciplinary readinggroup, which subsequently brings to bear practical and philosophical considerations in the use of blockchain technology in the modern world. The report concludes by providing the key areas in which trust can be reinforced, identifies the limitations of traditional factors as a measure for building trust with a decentralised and pseudonymous environment and clearly defines the differing levels of trust and confidence which are required within an on-chain and off-chain governance structure and its nexus to engendering legitimacy. HIIG_DP_2022-3_DE-FILIPPI-etal-1Download [...]
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The first issue of the Blockchaingov Newsletter is out!August 14, 2022We are excited to announce that the 1 st issue of the newsletter is out!Check this out if you’re interested in our recent research in the field of blockchain! Newly published papers, events, conferences and so much more! We believe in the power of #community and that knowledge should be shared and multiplied. This newsletter aims to provide updates on the projects, conferences, and events that our team members take part in. We are excited to share this first newsletter issue that we plan to publish each month. We are open to collaborations, and feedback and we are also hiring! Hope you like the material we prepared for you! Click here to read the first issue of the Blockchaingov news! You can click on the button bellow to subscribe to the newsletter! Subscribe to BlockchainGov News! Facebook Twitter LinkedIn [...]
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New Academic Papers Alert!August 6, 2022New Academic Papers Alert ! De Filippi, P, Mannan, M. presentation of “The BlockchainGov Report on Trust and Confidence in Blockchain Technology”, in the framework of the EUI Tech Cluster research seminar series. European University Institute. 18 May 2022. Florence. Italy Our team is involved in a variety of research projects, focus groups and initiatives that aim to explore challenges of the blockchain technology. Here are some of the recently published selected papers authored by our members, advisors and affiliates: 1. De Filippi, P., Poux, P., Deffains, B. (2022) “MEV ou la tragédie des blockchains en tant que communs, in Terminal. (forthcoming) 2. Rennie, E., Zargham, M., Tan, J., Miller, L., Abbott, J., Nabben, K., De Filippi, P. (2022) “Towards a participatory digital ethnography of blockchain governance.” 3. Reijers, W., Orgad, L., De Filippi, P. (2022) “The Rise of Cybernetic Citizenship” in Citizenship Studies, Special Issue on “Digital Citizenship in the Post-Pandemic Urban Realm. 4. De Filippi, P., Mannan, M., Reijers, W. (2022) “The Alegality of Blockchain Technology”, in Policy & Society, special issue: “The Policy Dilemmas of Blockchain”. 5. De Filippi, P., Leiter, A. (2021) “Blockchain in Outer Space” in American Journal of International Law (AJIL) Unbound, special issue: “The Global Governance Implications of Blockchain” [...]
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Lessons Bangladesh can learn from others about blockchain regulationNovember 15, 2021De Filippi, P., Mannan, M. (2021) “Lessons Bangladesh can learn from others about blockchain regulation” in Whiteboard Magazine. 16 June 2021. Read the Article [...]
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Let Users Own the Tech Companies They Help BuildNovember 15, 2021Schneider, N., Mannan, M. (2021) “Let Users Own the Tech Companies They Help Build”, in WIRED Magazine. 19 June 2021. The law might even make “exit to community” the price of success, such as by expecting large social media companies to have user representatives on their boards, with or without transferring equity.PHOTOGRAPH: ANDRIY ONUFRIYENKO/GETTY IMAGES Read the Article [...]
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Could Blockchain end Big Tech?November 15, 2021Reijers, W., Mannan, M. (2021) “Could Blockchain end Big Tech?”, in IAI.TV. 25 October 2021. Read the Article Blockchain is both a cure and a new poison [...]
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Blockchain Constitutionalism: the Role of Legitimacy in Polycentric Systems

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