Digital citizenship in Asia: A critical introduction

This paper situates the theory and practice of digital citizenship in general and Asia in particular. It surveys four extant thematic clusters: (1) the democratizing potential of information and communication technologies; (2) the role of digital citizenship education; (3) the power structures of technology in shaping citizen participation, and; (4) the digital emancipation of marginalized groups and communities. It highlights a new fifth cluster—digital citizenship as a contextual practice dependent on local contexts and histories—as a framework to situate the articles in this Special Issue.