Modernity has introduced new challenges to democracy. While some of these challenges threaten the existence of democracy, other challenges are prompting the refocusing of democracy. Are definitions of democracy still true in spirit and in practice? How and in what ways have peoples’ appetite for democracy shifted and what forces have accounted for this? We ask these questions in the context of digital transformation and the onset of the fourth industrial revolution and its impact on governance. We connect the scholarships on digital transformation and democracy to raise an argument that digital transformation has had a nuanced impact on democracy. On the one hand, we find that digital transformation has been shown to enhance democracy and its foundational values. On the other hand, however, digital technologies have also been venues of disruption. These technologies have reshaped peoples’ tolerance for democratic and traditionally undemocratic action. We also find that politics is a venue where this disruption plays out.
