Tokenization of Real Estate on Blockchain

This thesis presents research at the junction of law, governance, blockchain technology and real estate. The concept of real estate tokenization includes legal, technological, and organizational aspects. The research introduces a theory of a Title Token - a digital record of ownership on the blockchain. It is discussed the principle of technological neutrality, where the traditional land (property) registry is not necessarily abandoned in favor of blockchains, but instead, people gain the right to choose. The key output of this research is an architecture of the system presented as a cross-blockchain protocol designed to support free choice and transferability of assets across blockchains. Another important feature of the protocol is enforceability to address the constraint of the blockchain technology, i.e., the intolerance to retroactive transactions. To resolve disputes and other legal issues, the protocol provides a framework for smart laws and digital authorities. Among objects of interest were questions on the effectiveness of governance and bureaucracy, corruption, automation, fraud on the market, and the role of the government and other intermediaries in the protection of property rights and interests. The multilevel analysis undertaken in this thesis is a preliminary step towards making any policymaking suggestion. It also aims at delivering a solid ground for further research and experimentation. Such analysis aims to address the thorny issue of effectively applying emergent technologies to law and governance. The outcome is a set of reflections and conclusions for policymakers and researchers regarding the capabilities and limits of blockchain technology, wrapped into a consistent concept of improving the current system

Pyramidal deliberative democracy

This dissertation has two main objectives. First, to outline an ICT-facilitated model of democracy called ‘pyramidal democracy’ that reconciles deliberative democracy with mass engagement. Second, to suggest how this model of democracy might engender the democratisation of the global economy and thus the provision of a basic level of economic security for all global citizens. At the core of the model is the pyramidal deliberative network, a means of organising citizens into small online deliberative groups and linking these groups together by means of an iterative process of delegate-selection and group-formation. The pyramidal network enables citizens to aggregate their preferences in a deliberative manner, and then project social power by authorizing the delegates at the top-tier of the pyramidal network to communicate their social demands to elected officials or to other points of authority. The envisioned outcome is the democratisation of the public sphere by means of the proliferation of deliberative networks in the government, market, and civil society spheres. Transnational pyramidal networks may make it feasible to instantiate a new citizen-based schema of global governance and, thereby, facilitate the reform of the United Nations and enable a transition towards global peace, sustainability, and distributive justice. Distributive justice might be achieved by means of implementing the six components of a democratised economy: participatory budgeting, fee-and-dividend taxes, a basic income, monetary reform, workplace democracy, and the sharing economy. Taken together, these components might enable the universal provision of a social minimum – a universal basic income sufficient for basic security and real freedom. Taken to its logical conclusion, a democratised economy may also enable a transition towards a post-scarcity economic order characterised by a maximal stock of humanmade and natural capital that would not exceed the sustainable carrying capacity of the earth