TY - GEN

T1 - Metaverses and Public Policy: Prospects for Virtual Civic Participation

AU - Носиков, Андрей Андреевич

N1 - Nosikov, A. (2026). Metaverses and Public Policy: Prospects for Virtual Civic Participation. Internet and Modern Society. Communications in Computer and Information Science, vol 2671. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-032-04958-2_28

PY - 2026

Y1 - 2026

N2 - The rise of metaverses as dynamic digital environments presents new opportunities and challenges for civic participation and public policy. This study examines the potential of metaverses as platforms for digital activism, decentralized governance, and electoral experimentation. By enabling virtual protests, transnational advocacy, and immersive political simulations, metaverses redefine traditional mechanisms of political engagement, offering alternative public spheres beyond the constraints of state- controlled media and physical space. Despite their transformative potential, metaverses face structural barriers, including algorithmic content moderation, platform-based governance, and digital inequality. Corporate control over virtual spaces raises concerns about censorship, data privacy, and the instrumentalization of digital activism for political or commercial interests. Furthermore, the accessibility gap in virtual reality infrastructure and the need for advanced digital literacy limit broad -based participation in metaverse-based political processes. This study highlights the necessity of regulatory frameworks that ensure democratic accountability, transparency, and inclusivity in virtual civic ecosystems. The integration of blockchain technology, decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs), and immersive educational platforms may enhance political engagement, but their institutionalization requires careful policy interventions. The findings suggest that metaverses have the potential to function as laboratories for digital democracy, testing new governance models that could influence offline political institutions. The article contributes to the theory of public policy by offering a conceptual deconstruction of traditional frameworks of the public sphere in favor of incorporating virtual spaces of the metaverse as autonomous arena-forming structures of digital publicity. Within the context of this study, virtual worlds are examined not merely as technological platforms, but as socio-political ecosystems in which a new network-mediated agency emerges – an agency of actors capable of collectively shaping norms and values. This study is aimed at a comprehensive analysis of the potential of metaverses as an environment for political civic engagement in the context of the digital transformation of the public sphere. The research focuses on identifying key «windows of opportunity» for the institutionalization and legitimation of political activity within virtual environments, as well as on developing potential scenarios for the use of metaverses as platforms for the enactment of political action.

AB - The rise of metaverses as dynamic digital environments presents new opportunities and challenges for civic participation and public policy. This study examines the potential of metaverses as platforms for digital activism, decentralized governance, and electoral experimentation. By enabling virtual protests, transnational advocacy, and immersive political simulations, metaverses redefine traditional mechanisms of political engagement, offering alternative public spheres beyond the constraints of state- controlled media and physical space. Despite their transformative potential, metaverses face structural barriers, including algorithmic content moderation, platform-based governance, and digital inequality. Corporate control over virtual spaces raises concerns about censorship, data privacy, and the instrumentalization of digital activism for political or commercial interests. Furthermore, the accessibility gap in virtual reality infrastructure and the need for advanced digital literacy limit broad -based participation in metaverse-based political processes. This study highlights the necessity of regulatory frameworks that ensure democratic accountability, transparency, and inclusivity in virtual civic ecosystems. The integration of blockchain technology, decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs), and immersive educational platforms may enhance political engagement, but their institutionalization requires careful policy interventions. The findings suggest that metaverses have the potential to function as laboratories for digital democracy, testing new governance models that could influence offline political institutions. The article contributes to the theory of public policy by offering a conceptual deconstruction of traditional frameworks of the public sphere in favor of incorporating virtual spaces of the metaverse as autonomous arena-forming structures of digital publicity. Within the context of this study, virtual worlds are examined not merely as technological platforms, but as socio-political ecosystems in which a new network-mediated agency emerges – an agency of actors capable of collectively shaping norms and values. This study is aimed at a comprehensive analysis of the potential of metaverses as an environment for political civic engagement in the context of the digital transformation of the public sphere. The research focuses on identifying key «windows of opportunity» for the institutionalization and legitimation of political activity within virtual environments, as well as on developing potential scenarios for the use of metaverses as platforms for the enactment of political action.

KW - Metaverse

KW - Virtual Civic Participation

KW - Virtual Policy

UR - https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/9f78a575-0508-33b4-8cc8-d3b2059f9104/

U2 - 10.1007/978-3-032-04958-2_28

DO - 10.1007/978-3-032-04958-2_28

M3 - статья в сборнике материалов конференции

SN - 9783032049575

T3 - Communications in Computer and Information Science

SP - 380

EP - 393

BT - Internet and Modern Society (IMS 2025)

PB - Springer Nature

T2 - XXVIII Международная объединённая научная конференция «Интернет и современное общество»

Y2 - 23 June 2025 through 25 June 2025

ER -