Geo-tech politics: Why technology shapes European power
New technologies are a significant force shaping international relations. If the EU wants to be more than a mediator between the US and China, it will need to change its mindset.
Technology
Featured
6 Sep
Europe and the Indo-Pacific: Boosting Engagement with the Key Global Growth Region
While the European Union is set to present its new strategy for the Indo-Pacific, APA and ECFR have teamed up to provide a timely input to the debate
Europe needs a change in mindset on technology and geopolitics
Technological change is already having far-reaching effects on the international balance of power. If the EU is to become a true geopolitical actor, it cannot shy away from these challenges
The geopolitics of technology
The EU is often described as a “regulatory superpower” benefitting from the so-called “Brussels effect.” But is the bloc also able to set its own rules and standards when it comes to new technologies?
Geo-tech politics: Why technology shapes European power
New technologies are a significant force shaping international relations. If the EU wants to be more than a mediator between the US and China, it will need to change its mindset.
Network effects: Europe’s digital sovereignty in the Mediterranean
The EU has the ambition and potential to become a sovereign digital power, but it lacks an all-encompassing strategy for the sector, in which individual governments are still the key players
A glimpse of the future: The Ever Given and the weaponisation of choke-points
In a future, states will likely become more transactional and try to force changes in behaviour from others in exchange for the use of a platform or supply chain
27 Apr
Digital sovereignty of the European Union in the international arena
First part of a series jointly organised by the European Movement International and ECFR exploring the challenges the European Union is facing
Why Germany’s investment in Open RAN will not solve its 5G problem
On the path to Germany’s 5G network rollout, Berlin has made a misguided investment in Open RAN, an unproven telecoms industry concept that promises much but has so far produced little
14 Apr
ECFR x Intelligence² Germany – Debate: We must stop big data’s pandemic power grab
An Oxford-style debate in cooperation with Intelligence² Germany
The geopolitics of cybersecurity
Dr Janka Oertel discusses with Dr Elli-Katharina Pohlkamp and Bonji Ohara the cooperation in the field of cybersecurity between two of the US closest allies
Publications
Geo-tech politics: Why technology shapes European power
New technologies are a significant force shaping international relations. If the EU wants to be more than a mediator between the US and China, it will need to change its mindset.
Network effects: Europe’s digital sovereignty in the Mediterranean
The EU has the ambition and potential to become a sovereign digital power, but it lacks an all-encompassing strategy for the sector, in which individual governments are still the key players
Artificial divide: How Europe and America could clash over AI
Artificial intelligence is a rapidly advancing field that policymakers everywhere are struggling to keep up with
Europe’s digital sovereignty: From rulemaker to superpower in the age of US-China rivalry
The EU cannot continue to rely on its regulatory power but must become a tech superpower in its own right. Referees do not win the game.
Not smart enough: The poverty of European military thinking on artificial intelligence
Failing to coordinate properly in the AI area could threaten future European defence cooperation, including PESCO and the European Defence
Harnessing artificial intelligence
If Europe does not address these difficult questions soon it will find itself surrounded by more powerful rivals deploying AI against it
No middle ground: Moving on from the crypto wars
The ‘second crypto war’ is in full swing; European governments need to stop trying to defeat encryption and get more sophisticated themselves instead
Europe’s digital power: from geo-economics to cybersecurity
This paper puts forward an understanding of digital power which rests on, first, the strength of the digital economy and, second, cyber capability
Connectivity Wars
Why migration, finance and trade are the geo-economic battlegrounds of the future
Articles
Europe needs a change in mindset on technology and geopolitics
Technological change is already having far-reaching effects on the international balance of power. If the EU is to become a true geopolitical actor, it cannot shy away from these challenges
A glimpse of the future: The Ever Given and the weaponisation of choke-points
In a future, states will likely become more transactional and try to force changes in behaviour from others in exchange for the use of a platform or supply chain
Why Germany’s investment in Open RAN will not solve its 5G problem
On the path to Germany’s 5G network rollout, Berlin has made a misguided investment in Open RAN, an unproven telecoms industry concept that promises much but has so far produced little
Why cyber security should be a key part of Europe’s Indo-Pacific strategy
Making cyber security an integral part of a European approach to the Indo-Pacific could provide a framework for cooperation with EU partners in the region
Second acts: How Europe can renew the transatlantic partnership
This could be the moment to build a more balanced transatlantic relationship, with Europeans showing the US where we need it to engage, and how – rather than simply waiting for cues from Washington
Broken shield: Privacy versus surveillance in Europe
In striking down the Privacy Shield, the European Court of Justice has halted transatlantic data flows and thrown global digital commerce into disarray
Digital dilemmas: European regulation and the internet
The internet fundamentally tests the ways in which governments approach regulation
Digital decolonisation: The EU’s new ideas on data and artificial intelligence
The EU is proposing a process of digital decolonisation, aiming to reduce its dependency on US and Chinese firms
Upstaged: Europe’s struggles to play the great tech game
This year’s Munich Security Conference showed once again that just two players will fight the global battle over tech. And guess who’s missing.
Out of the slow lane: How Europe can meet the challenge of AI
EU member states need to turn their declarations of intent about international cooperation on technological sovereignty into real projects
Podcasts
The geopolitics of technology
The EU is often described as a “regulatory superpower” benefitting from the so-called “Brussels effect.” But is the bloc also able to set its own rules and standards when it comes to new technologies?
The geopolitics of cybersecurity
Dr Janka Oertel discusses with Dr Elli-Katharina Pohlkamp and Bonji Ohara the cooperation in the field of cybersecurity between two of the US closest allies
A fair, green and digital recovery – brought to you by Portugal
How can the Portuguese presidency strengthen European strategic autonomy?
In the media
What we did not expect was that software developers based in democratic countries, such as Israel’s NSO, would make it easier for all kinds of regimes to demolish rights
José Ignacio Torreblanca writes about how ICT are reinforcing dictatorships and debilitating democracies around the world
Throughout history, technology has not only transformed economies and societies: it has also been an important redistributor of power between States
Ulrike Franke writes about the geopolitics of technology, and urges the EU to recognize and consider the international effects of any action it takes in the technological sphere
The open structure of Open Ran increases the number of vulnerabilities that cyber attackers can exploit
Everyone is excited about OpenRAN [but] OpenRAN is not immune to China’s influence
Rising tensions between the US and China must be an incentive for Europe to develop its digital capability
Arturo Varvelli, co-author of “Network effects: Europe’s digital sovereignty in the Mediterranean”, describes the new perspectives for european digital power