Igor Calzada

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• Fulbright Scholar PhD (Cum Laude), BSc (First Class Honours) MBA FeRSA
• Full Professor at University of the Basque Country

This article investigates the intricate dynamics of data monopolies, referred to as “data-opolies”, and their implications for democratic erosion. Data-opolies, typically embodied by large technology corporations, accumulate extensive datasets, affording them significant influence. The sustainability of such data practices is critically examined wi...

This paper explores the subtle notion of unplugging to critically analyze the technological determinism of the Smart City. This exploration suggests that being digitally connected should not be perceived as gaining social capital. This article critiques the assumptions of the Smart City and proposes a ten-dimension conceptual framework. The first s...

Smart City Citizenship provides rigorous analysis for academics and policymakers on the participatory processes and practices of smart cities to help integrate ICT-related innovation into urban life. Unlike other smart city books that are often edited collections, this book focuses on the business domain and the technological disruptions themselves...

Against the backdrop of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) taking effect in the European Union (EU), a debate emerged about the role of citizens and their relationship with data. European city authorities claim that (smart) citizens are as important to a successful smart city program as data and technology are, and that those citizens mu...

This viewpoint paper aims to spark a debate by (i) presenting the need for developing data ecosystems in Europe that meet the social and public good while committing to democratic and ethical standards; (ii) suggesting a taxonomy of data infrastructures and institutions to support this need; (iii) using the case study of Barcelona as the flagship c...

Action Research Question: If Gipuzkoa is a socially cohesive territory, is it also digitally sustainable? Synopsis: This International Summer School addresses the strategic challenges of digital rights and the data gap, especially in vulnerable communities. With a focus on social cohesion, ethical AI, and public policy innovation, the programme br...

This book explores how AI and Generative AI (GenAI) are shaping contemporary societies. It examines the mechanisms through which they influence politics and governance, and sectors such as education and business, with a focus on their alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Leading experts provide a variety of complementary perspe...

As generative AI (GenAI) technologies proliferate, ensuring trust and transparency in digital ecosystems becomes increasingly critical, particularly within democratic frameworks. This article examines decentralized Web3 mechanisms—blockchain, decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs), and data cooperatives—as foundational tools for enhancing tr...

The hybrid workshop "Trustworthy AI for Whom? Roadmapping Generative AI Policy Challenges Ahead" addresses the rapid evolution of Generative AI (GenAI) and its profound implications for society, governance, and the public sector. As these technologies reshape economic and social landscapes, this event aims to provide a platform for interdisciplinar...

As generative AI (GenAI) technologies proliferate, ensuring trust and transparency in digital ecosystems becomes increasingly critical, particularly within democratic frameworks. This article examines decentralized Web3 mechanisms—blockchain, decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs), and data cooperatives—as foundational tools for enhancing tr...

As generative AI (GenAI) technologies proliferate, the need for trust and transparency in digital ecosystems intensifies, especially within democratic frameworks. This article investigates decentralized Web3 mechanisms, specifically those based on blockchain, decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs), and data cooperatives, to establish robust...

To Cite This Chapter, Use This Citation Reference: Not for dissemination unless appropriately cited as follows as preprint: Calzada, I. (2026), Beyond the Local-Global Nexus: Towards P2P Decentralized AI-Driven Diasporic e-Citizenship for Data Cooperatives. In. Zuberogoitia, A., Imaz, O. & Madinabeitia, M. UniberZiutaterantz: Conversing with the...

In an era of rapid technological advancement, decisions about the ownership and governance of emerging technologies like Artificial Intelligence will shape the future of both urban and rural environments in the Global North and South. This article explores how AI can move beyond the noise of algorithms by adopting a technological humanistic approac...

This article explores how decentralized Web3 is reshaping Internet governance by enabling the emergence of new forms of nation-statehood and redefining traditional concepts of state sovereignty. Based on fieldwork conducted in Silicon Valley since August 2022, this article systematically addresses the following research question: How is decentraliz...

This article contributes to the discussions on the datafied control, selection, and (re)construction of digital borders globally. We examine the reasons for the prevailing datafied inclusion and exclusion patterns revealed by the Estonian e-residency program. This government-supported digital identity program gives non-residents remote access to Es...

In an era where the digital landscape evolves at warp speed, the reliance of digital citizens on big tech has raised a complex issue that demands our undivided attention (Calzada 2022). These disruptive technologies, as a result of creative destruction processes (Schumpeter 1942), have brought immeasurable benefits to billions of people, including...

Decisions societies make today about the ownership and governance of emerging technologies, like AI and blockchain, may set the course of the next century. In the era of accelerated algorithmic advancement, Artificial Intelligence (AI) stands as a transformative reality. We face a crucial challenge: to integrate social innovation with technology to...

Against the backdrop of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the Welsh and Basque Governments in 2018, this article introduces a multiscalar and transdisciplinary social sciences action research framework that emerged from a workshop held in May 2023. The workshop engaged stakeholders from both sides and is part of the broader ongoi...

This chapter addresses the problem of replication among smart cities in the European Commission’s Horizon 2020 Smart Cities and Communities (EC-H2020-SCC) framework programme. To illustrate this issue, this chapter revolves around a fieldwork action research conducted during 2019 in the EC-H2020-SCC Replicate project through a webinar series encomp...

Against the backdrop of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the Welsh and Basque Governments in 2018, this article introduces a multiscalar and transdisciplinary social sciences action research framework that emerged from a workshop held in May 2023. The workshop engaged stakeholders from both sides and is part of the broader ongoi...

This is the report on the Blobal Innovation Co-op Summit Workshop taking place in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, in September 27-29, 2023. Dr Calzada positively influenced the agenda by including Data Cooperatives in the agenda for discussion with international stakeholders.

E-diasporas are communities of diaspora members utilizing digital technologies and data platforms to establish connections among themselves and with their homelands. In response to the pandemic, governments worldwide have intensified efforts to reinforce e-diasporas. However, these endeavours often rely on social media extractivist Big Tech platfor...

E-diasporas are networks driven by human agency, connecting digital citizens to their home countries and diasporic fellows through digital tools. In contrast, Hyperconnected Diasporas (HD) are data-driven networks engaged in extractive activities, often employed for government (para)diplomacy, heavily relying on social media extractivist data-opoli...

This chapter contributes to the discussion on contemporary rural development programs, with a focus on their alignment with the sustainable development goals (SDGs) in the Global South. The study examines an action research project led by Ayuda En Acción, in collaboration with co-operatives under the Mondragon Cooperative Corporation (MCC) such as...

Digital resources and capabilities are concentrated due to network effects and economies of scale, limiting equitable digital entrepreneurship and job creation, particularly in local communities through small and medium enterprises (SMEs). In response, this policy brief advocates for the establishment of data cooperatives to ensure sovereign data e...

Network effects, economies of scale, and lock-in-effects increasingly lead to a concentration of digital resources and capabilities, hindering the free and equitable development of digital entrepreneurship, new skills, and jobs, especially in small communities and their small and medium-sized enterprises (“SMEs”). To ensure the affordability and ac...

Digitalizazioa eta datafikazioa gailendu egin dira giza-banakoaren eguneroko jardueren inguruan. Hala nola medikura joatean, bankuarekin eragiketa bat egin nahi denean edo erosketak egin nahi ditugunean: guztia bihurtu da datu, gizabanakoen arteko hartu-eman tele-matikoen artean, sarritan hartu-eman horiek dagoeneko gizakien artean ere gertatzen ez...

This article contributes to the ongoing discussion on rural development programs aligning with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the Global South. The research question examines how the Smart Rural Communities (SRC) framework can support the SDGs as an international cooperation model. The article presents findings from fieldwork action re...

Pandemiak utzi dituen alboko kalteak asko izan dira; eta desagertu baino, gure artean geratu dira, gure bizitzetan txertatuak. Zeintzuk dira? Adibidez, sare sozialetan nabigatzen dugun bakoitzean, klik bakoitzarekin, Facebook, Amazon, edota Google multinazional erraldoiek, gure datuak xurgazen dituztela. Okerrena ez da hori bakarrik; okerrena da, h...

Euskal Herria 2025 Digitalizazioa eta datafikazioa gailendu egin dira giza-banakoaren eguneroko jardueren inguruan. Hala nola medikura joatean, bankuarekin eragiketa bat egin nahi denean edo erosketak egin nahi ditugunean: guztia bihurtu da datu, gizabanakoen arteko hartu-eman tele-matikoen artean, sarritan hartu-eman horiek dagoeneko gizakien arte...

This paper presents the fieldwork action research carried out during the period 2017-2019 in Colombia (Bolivar province, in postconflict rural communities) and Mozambique (Pemba province, in remote rural communities). This paper summarises the research project called Smart Rural Communities that was conducted with the NGO Ayuda en Acción and three...

Learned Society of Wales, 2023 Under the institutional framework of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the Welsh and Basque Governments, the ‘Wales & Basque Cooperation (From Transdisciplinary Social Sciences) Workshop funded by The Learned Society of Wales under the grant scheme 2022-23 presents three goals. 1. To gather key st...

Network effects, economies of scale, and lock-in-effects increasingly lead to a concentration of digital resources and capabilities, hindering the free and equitable development of digital entrepreneurship (SDG9), new skills, and jobs (SDG8), especially in small communities (SDG11) and their small and medium-sized enterprises ("SMEs"). To ensure th...

Network effects, economies of scale, and lock-in-effects increasingly lead to a concentration of digital resources and capabilities, hindering the free and equitable development of digital entrepreneurship (SDG9), new skills, and jobs (SDG8), especially in small communities (SDG11) and their small and medium-sized enterprises (“SMEs”). To ensure th...

E-diasporas are networks driven by human agency, connecting digital citizens to their home countries and diasporic fellows through digital tools. In contrast, Hyperconnected Diasporas (HD) are data-driven networks engaged in extractive activities, often employed for government (para)diplomacy, heavily relying on social media extractivist data-opoli...

Wide tensions regarding the organization of nation-state power have been triggered over the last years in the UK and Spain. By contrast, in the UK, (i) the plebiscite on Scottish Independence has been characterized since 2014 so far by a regular hegemony of the SNP in Scotland, and (ii) more recently, distinct resilient responses to tackle COVID-19...

This Special Issue presents new perspectives on the idea of digital citizenship by delving into the nexus between its emerging concepts, the consequences of the global pandemic crisis, and the urban environment. It does so by addressing a wide range of case studies from three continents and developing two main hypotheses. First, the COVID-19 outbre...

Amidst this volume on “democratic deepening”, this chapter introduces the new term “postpandemic technopolitical democracy” as a way to figure out emerging forms and scales for developing democracy and citizen participation in hyper-connected and highly virialised postpandemic societies. Insofar as the digital layer cannot be detached from the curr...

Basque settlement increased in the western states of the US decades ago, particularly in California, Idaho, and Nevada. Alongside this migration phenomenon, Basque Studies programs have been emerging at the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR), Boise State University (BSU), and California State University, Bakersfield (CSUB), particularly in the humani...

State institutions may have already monopolized contemporary practices around citizenship. Actually, so far, traditional approaches around citizenship have framed it at the scale of the territorial state. Nonetheless, over the last decade, the flagship Big Tech firms of surveillance capitalism, such as Google and Facebook, have already assumed many...

Pandemiak utzi dituen alboko kalteak asko izan dira; eta desagertu baino, gure artean geratu dira, gure bizitzetan txertatuak. Zeintzuk dira? Adibidez, sare sozialetan nabigatzen dugun bakoitzean, klik bakoitzarekin, Facebook, Amazon, edota Google multinazional erraldoiek, gure datuak xugartzen dituztela. Okerrena ez da hori bakarrik; okerrena da,...

Dr Calzada's Fulbright Scholar-In-Residence reception took place on 10th October 2022 at California State University, Bakersfield. This event contributed to launch the Institute for Basque Studies (IBS) through a renewed academic programme based on trans-disciplinarity, entrepreneurship, and digitalisation by connecting the Basque Country, Wales, a...

This article argues that, since the COVID-19 outbreak, 'digital diasporas' worldwide have become more vulnerable with regard to their digital rights and are now facing unprecedented technopolitical risks. Against this backdrop, this article proposes a novel term-Hyperconnected Diasporas-by suggesting (i) a technopolitical wake-up call for regional...

This article argues that, since the COVID-19 outbreak, 'digital diasporas' worldwide have become more vulnerable with regard to their digital rights and are now facing unprecedented technopolitical risks. Against this backdrop, this article proposes a novel term-Hyperconnected Diasporas-by suggesting (i) a technopolitical wake-up call for regional...

The Personal Information Protection Law (PIPL) was launched on 1 November 2021 in China. This article provides a state-of-the-art review of PIPL through a policy analysis. This paper aims to compare the three main worldwide data privacy paradigms that exist at present: (i) the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the E.U., (ii) the Californ...

This survey was conducted for HanHemen/BasqueGlobalNetwork from 1st February to 31st March 2022 by team led by Dr Calzada from Cardiff University, WISERD. N= 1385 Respondents: 419 https://hanhemen.eus/es/euskal-komunitate-globala-diaspora-biziberritzeko-prest/ Related source and to cite this source please use this citation: Calzada, I. (2022), H...

The aim of this special issue is: to establish a bridge between theory and practice in the built environment by examining in-depth the consequences for citizens. Any of the latest research findings and innovative approaches, will help to redefine contemporary built environments in relation to the different perspectives. A broad outline of the speci...

The Right to Have Digital Rights in Smart Cities by Igor Calzada Sustainability 2021, 13(20), 11438; https://doi.org/10.3390/su132011438 - 16 Oct 2021 Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2001 Abstract New data-driven technologies in global cities have yielded potential but also have intensified techno-political concerns. Consequently, in recent years, several d...

Citation: Calzada, I. (2022), "Introduction: Digital Citizenship Regimes in the Postpandemics", Emerging Digital Citizenship Regimes, Emerald Publishing Limited, Bingley, pp. 1-22. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-80382-331-720221001

Citation: Calzada, I. (2022), "Future Research and Policy Avenues", Emerging Digital Citizenship Regimes, Emerald Publishing Limited, Bingley, pp. 169-188. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-80382-331-720221006

Citation: Calzada, I. (2022), "Algorithmic Nations: A Conceptual Assemblage for Postpandemic Technopolitical Democracies", Emerging Digital Citizenship Regimes, Emerald Publishing Limited, Bingley, pp. 99-129. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-80382-331-720221004

Citation: Calzada, I. (2022), "Digital Citizenship Regimes Rescaling Nation-States?", Emerging Digital Citizenship Regimes, Emerald Publishing Limited, Bingley, pp. 23-55. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-80382-331-720221002

Citation: Calzada, I. (2022), "Taxonomy for Emerging Digital Citizenship Regimes", Emerging Digital Citizenship Regimes, Emerald Publishing Limited, Bingley, pp. 57-97. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-80382-331-720221003

Citation: Calzada, I. (2022), "Trends, Aftermaths, Emancipations", Emerging Digital Citizenship Regimes, Emerald Publishing Limited, Bingley, pp. 131-167. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-80382-331-720221005

[The chapter is in Spanish] COVID-19 has hit citizens dramatically during 2020, not only creating a general risk-driven environment encompassing a wide array of economic vulnerabilities but also exposing them to pervasive digital risks, such as biosurveillance, misinformation, and e-democracy algorithmic threats. Over the course of the pandemic, a...

This provocation shows how five emerging digital citizenship regimes are rescaling European nation-states through a taxonomy: (i) the globalised/generalisable regime called pandemic citizenship that clarifies how post-COVID-19 datafication processes have amplified the emergence of four digital citizenship regimes in six city-regions; (ii) algorithm...

In the context of COVID-19, the production and governance of urban space has experienced a rapid digitalization and datafication, creating new challenges for citizenship. The urban realm is not only the environment where a new standard for digital development is set but also the realm from which rescaling nation-states are pervasively emerging. Em...

La ponencia ‘digitalización (potencialmente federalizante)’ se enmarca en el curso de verano titulado ‘Sobre el Futuro de Europa: Una Visión desde Euskadi’. En la misma, el autor interpreta desde un punto de vista estratégico—conectando lo regional con lo internacional, pasando por lo europeo—las políticas públicas en el ámbito digital en un contex...

Northern Ireland (NI) has pervasively been a fragile and often disputed city-regional nation. Despite NI’s slim majority in favour of remaining in the EU, de facto Brexit, post-pandemic challenges and the Northern Ireland Protocol (NIP) have revealed a dilemma: people of all political hues have started to question aspects of their own citizenship....

Building on the Millennium Development Goals, the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are the cornerstone of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, billed by the UN as “An Agenda of unprecedented scope and significance.” The seventeen ambitious goals, which are intended to be reached by 2030, are conceived as integrated, indivisible, and...

This article develops a conceptual taxonomy of five emerging digital citizenship regimes: (i) the globalised and generalisable regime called pandemic citizenship that clarifies how post-COVID-19 datafication processes have amplified the emergence of four intertwined, non-mutually exclusive, and non-generalisable new techno-politicalised and city-re...

This is an essay published in the digital magazine .EUS around postpandemic geek hyperbole based on the movie 'Matrix' and advocating a Trans-Disciplinary approach to understanding postpandemic times.

Great policy research from academic institutions isn’t always able to cut-through and make an impact. But when research does resonate with policymakers, it has the potential to steer the direction of government. Academic research remains a vital source of information and innovation. This is why Apolitical invited public servants to nominate the aca...

Declarations and manifestos have emerged across the world claiming to protect citizens’ digital rights. Data-driven technologies in global cities not only have yielded techno-euphoria but also have intensified techno-political concerns as reflected in UN-Habitat’s flagship program called “People-Centered Smart Cities” (PCSC) that advocates the will...

This is a Call for Papers in new Special Issue for the Journal Frontiers in Political Science, Politics of Technology entitled: 'Postpandemic Technopolitical Democracies' https://lnkd.in/gk8b5UMg

Definition Digital rights are fundamental rights in the digital age related to privacy protection in smart cities. In this vein, it has encouraged the United Nations to take an advocacy role regarding the ‘right to have digital rights’ and create the Hub for Human Rights and Digital Technology: ‘Together, as we seek to recover from the pandemic, w...

New data-driven technologies in global cities have yielded potential but also have intensified techno-political concerns. Consequently, in recent years, several declarations/manifestos have emerged across the world claiming to protect citizens’ digital rights. In 2018, Barcelona, Amsterdam, and NYC city councils formed the Cities’ Coalition for Dig...

COVID-19 has hit citizens dramatically during 2020, not only creating a general risk-driven environment encompassing a wide array of economic vulnerabilities but also exposing them to pervasive digital risks, such as biosurveillance, misinformation, and e-democracy algorithmic threats. Over the course of the pandemic, a debate has emerged about the...

Against the widespread assumption that data are the oil of the 21st century, this article offers an alternative conceptual framework, interpretation, and pathway around data and smart city nexus to subvert surveillance capitalism in light of emerging and further promising practical cases. This article illustrates an open debate in data governance a...

To cite this keynote conference: Calzada, I. (2021), Smart City-Regions’ Citizenship: Data Devolution in Pandemic Times. The making of city-regions: Mobility, innovation and networks. SwissLab_2021. Lugano-Locarno (Switzerland). 9-10 September. doi:10.13140/RG.2.2.20408.26888.

The paper entitled 'digitalisation (potentially federalizing)' will be presented in the scope of the summer school entitled 'About the Future of Europe: A Vision from the Basque Country'. The author interprets 'the regional fact' from an strategic/prospective manner being connected with an international view. In doing so, the paper examines the dig...

This article published in the portal Sarean.EUS addressed the digitalisation process from the strategic formulation perspective by addressing how digitalisation could be federalised through data ecosystems. In doing so, this article suggests a wake up call by asking to technological stakeholders in the Basque Country whether digital public policy a...

In the context of COVID-19 the production and governance of urban space has experienced a rapid digitization, creating new challenges for citizenship (Leszczynski, 2020). The urban realm is the environment where a new standard for digital development is set. This special issue explores roles played by digital citizenship in the context of the polit...

Throughout the history of urban design, the lack of interdisciplinary studies between architecture and urbanism was the main gap in the literature which leads to lots of socio-economic and cultural problems in the cities and regions worldwide. In this regard, and paying attention to the particular aftermath and recovery of COVID-19, this special is...

Over the last decades, globalisation has led to a new class of ‘global citizens’. However, this cosmopolitan globalisation rhetoric of a borderless would has been drastically slowed down by COVID-19, by particularly affecting the understanding of diasporas and how much they rely on the potential of hyperconnected societies driven by digital technol...

This is a translated article published in Public Seminar journal. To cite this present version: Scholz, T. & Calzada, I. (2021), Datu-kooperatibak pandemia sasoian, Tu Lankide. May 2021. DOI:10.13140/RG.2.2.32598.16967/1. To cite the previous version: Scholz, T. & Calzada, I. (2021), Data Cooperatives for Pandemic Times. Public Seminar journal. D...

Europe increasingly operates online; a scattered geography creates a different reality in which political decisions and national laws transform physical space into virtual territory. Digital economies are integrated, populations are mobile, and the cyber- or techno-political domain is merging with physical reality or the city-regional domain. Howev...

This article entitled 'Deciphering Pandemic Citizenship' aims to set the scene to understand the aftermath of COVID-19 for citizenship. The article introduces the term 'Pandemic Citizenship' to address global issues including datafication, global digital order, privacy ethics, data sovereignty, the end of the global citizen as a norm rather than an...

Amidst this volume on “democratic deepening”, this chapter introduces the new term “postpandemic technopolitical democracy” as a way to figure out emerging forms and scales for developing democracy and citizen participation in hyper-connected and highly virialised postpandemic societies. Insofar as the digital layer cannot be detached from the curr...

Quando a COVID-19 atingiu populações em todo o mundo, ficou claro como as práticas de dados estão conectadas profundamente à democracia. Um relatório recente, por exemplo, encontrou uma “desigualdade de dados” destacando as divisórias no acesso, conhecimento e consciência das tecnologias digitais de saúde usadas na pandemia. As tão pesquisadas “des...

To avoid ‘co-op whitewashing,’ experiments with data co-ops should be co-developed with communities connected to the long history and analysis of the various forms of cooperatives. To cite this article: Scholz, T. & Calzada, I. (2021), Data Cooperatives for Pandemic Times. Public Seminar journal. Retrieved from: https://publicseminar.org/essays/d...

Yet, what is the significance of nation-states and citizenship in this rapidly shifting context? All sort of pandemic adjustments are having different consequences both for directly citizens (depending to which country they call home and their living conditions) and indirectly for nation-states. Therefore, the main hypothesis of this Academia Lette...

This article draws on the proliferation of "Living Labs" in the Basque Country. After revolving around previous initiatives and projects that were deployed in the past, the author concludes with several policy recommendations and final remarks. To cite this article: Calzada, I. (2021), LABorategiak, Retrieved from https://www.sarean.eus/LABorategi...