My paper on how civic groups leveraged distributed technologies in the 2017 Catalan referendum on independence is now available at First Monday.

https://firstmonday.org/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/9402/7692

Abstract

This paper examines new civic engagement practices unfolding during the 2017 referendum on independence in Catalonia. These practices constitute one of the first signs of some emerging trends in the use of the Internet for civic and political action: the adoption of horizontal, distributed, and privacy-enhancing technologies that rely on P2P networks and advanced cryptographic tools.

2017 Catalan referendum on independence, by HazteOir

In this regard, the case of the 2017 Catalan referendum, framed within conflicting political dynamics, can be considered a first-of-its-kind in participatory democracy. The case also offers an opportunity to reflect on an interesting paradox that twenty-first-century activism will face: the more it will rely on private-friendly, secured, and encrypted networks, the more open, inclusive, ethical, and transparent it will need to be.