Opinion paper
Global techno-politics: A review of the current status and opportunities for future research
Author links open overlay panelJie Yan a, Dorothy E. Leidner b, Uchenna Peters c
Highlights
- Technological neutrality has been increasingly challenged in recent years.
- The world has become increasingly interconnected and reliant on technology.
- The regulations and policies governing the technologies take global significance.
- Global techno-politics is an understudied area requiring interdisciplinary approaches.
Abstract
This study presents an overview of the evolving relationship between technology and global politics, focusing on global techno-politics (GTP). Technology was seen as neutral and accessible, with market forces and multilateral states enforcing global trading norms. However, recent years have witnessed a shift as technological powers turn interdependencies into vulnerabilities. The intense technological competition between China and the U.S. has exposed the non-neutrality of technology, resulting in geopolitical tensions and strategic market exclusions. The impact of technology on global politics extends beyond a single sector, affecting policies, laws, governance, security, international relations, economics, and human rights. This intersection of technology and global politics forms the basis of GTP, where political decisions and actions are influenced by technological advancements, and vice versa. Understanding the landscape of GTP is therefore crucial for individuals, organizations, and states to navigate the challenges and opportunities of the digital age while ensuring technology serves the public interest. The present study seeks to deepen our understanding of GTP and its implications by reviewing the extant IS research and providing opportunities for future research.
Introduction
With decades of globalization, companies and countries have primarily focused on technology’s social, labor, and economic implications. To some extent, technology is neutral regarding accessibility, and it does not matter what company or country originally owns the technology. This is because, in a standards-based and market-oriented world, global trading norms are enforced by multilateral states and countries (Franke & Torreblanca, 2021). As a result, countries could depend on market forces to access global supply chains and meet their technological needs.
Yet, this technological neutrality has been increasingly challenged in recent years as technological powers turn interdependencies into vulnerabilities (Franke & Torreblanca, 2021). More specifically, as the technological competition between China and the U.S. becomes increasingly fierce, geopolitically speaking, technology is not neutral (Baums, 2019). In telecommunications, Chinese companies such as Huawei have been excluded from strategic markets in Europe, Canada, and Australia as the U.S. exerts pressure on its global allies. In semiconductors, from lithography systems to high-end silicon, China’s supply chain is choking as the U.S. has imposed intensive export controls worldwide. And now, in artificial intelligence (AI), China is running for unipolar leadership in supply chains and standards (to compete with the U.S.). Such competitions have resulted in various outcomes and implications regarding innovation and startups, trade and economic impact, and geopolitical tensions (Morrison, 2019). Indeed, new technologies are constantly emerging, and the impact on global politics is not limited to a single sector or discipline. They affect multiple areas, including policies, laws, governance, security, international relations, economics, and human rights (Manjikian, 2018). In other words, as the globalization of commercial competition and statehood is facilitated and accelerated in multiple unforeseen ways by emerging technologies and innovations (Franke & Torreblanca, 2021), global politics is also shaped by technological advancements in multiple ways.
Given the above practical and theoretical considerations, the perspective of global techno-politics (hereinafter GTP) has received increasing attention from scholars and practitioners. In general, GTP relates to the intersection of technology and global politics, where political decisions and actions are shaped and influenced by technological advancements, and in turn, technology is shaped and influenced by political decisions and actions (Eriksson & Newlove-Eriksson, 2021). GTP views technology as neither bad, good, nor neutral, and considers technology to be “deeply embedded into the global system” (Fritsch, 2011, p.28). A key argument of GTP is that technology is intricately linked and embedded within politics, rather than being viewed as an external or exogenous factor. It suggests that technology, politics, and broader social systems continually influence and modify one another.
GTP is, therefore, a broad concept and can encompass a broad range of issues, from the policymaking and regulation of emerging technologies such as AI and blockchain to the use and role of technology in warfare, national and world affairs, conflicts between nation-states, and multinational collaborations. It also involves debates around topics at the global level, such as digital privacy, cybersecurity, internet governance, and the impact of technology on social inequality, democracy, and human rights (Fritsch, 2014). It has also increasingly reflected the idea of the “competition state,” where businesses, institutions, and politicians are increasingly attentive to the applications, impacts, and governance of emerging technologies in almost all fields (May and Sell, 2005, Mayer et al., 2014).
Overall, GTP is a complex, rapidly evolving, and interdisciplinary field. Understanding the GTP landscape is essential for policymakers, technologists, and citizens to navigate the challenges and opportunities of the digital age and ensure that technology is developed and used to serve the public interest (Eriksson & Giacomello, 2007). To highlight these and help further our knowledge of GTP, in the present study, we seek to answer the following two research questions: 1) what is the current status of GTP research in the discipline of information systems (IS), and 2) what are some opportunities for future GTP research?
The paper proceeds as follows: we will provide an overview of the existing IS literature encompassing different issues related to the GTP concept. Following that, we will highlight gaps and present some opportunities and examples for future research. In closing, we will discuss the implications for practice and policy and some limitations of this study.
Source: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S026840122300110X
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Opinion paper
Global techno-politics: A review of the current status and opportunities for future research
Author links open overlay panelJie Yan a, Dorothy E. Leidner b, Uchenna Peters c
Highlights
- Technological neutrality has been increasingly challenged in recent years.
- The world has become increasingly interconnected and reliant on technology.
- The regulations and policies governing the technologies take global significance.
- Global techno-politics is an understudied area requiring interdisciplinary approaches.
Abstract
This study presents an overview of the evolving relationship between technology and global politics, focusing on global techno-politics (GTP). Technology was seen as neutral and accessible, with market forces and multilateral states enforcing global trading norms. However, recent years have witnessed a shift as technological powers turn interdependencies into vulnerabilities. The intense technological competition between China and the U.S. has exposed the non-neutrality of technology, resulting in geopolitical tensions and strategic market exclusions. The impact of technology on global politics extends beyond a single sector, affecting policies, laws, governance, security, international relations, economics, and human rights. This intersection of technology and global politics forms the basis of GTP, where political decisions and actions are influenced by technological advancements, and vice versa. Understanding the landscape of GTP is therefore crucial for individuals, organizations, and states to navigate the challenges and opportunities of the digital age while ensuring technology serves the public interest. The present study seeks to deepen our understanding of GTP and its implications by reviewing the extant IS research and providing opportunities for future research.
Introduction
With decades of globalization, companies and countries have primarily focused on technology’s social, labor, and economic implications. To some extent, technology is neutral regarding accessibility, and it does not matter what company or country originally owns the technology. This is because, in a standards-based and market-oriented world, global trading norms are enforced by multilateral states and countries (Franke & Torreblanca, 2021). As a result, countries could depend on market forces to access global supply chains and meet their technological needs.
Yet, this technological neutrality has been increasingly challenged in recent years as technological powers turn interdependencies into vulnerabilities (Franke & Torreblanca, 2021). More specifically, as the technological competition between China and the U.S. becomes increasingly fierce, geopolitically speaking, technology is not neutral (Baums, 2019). In telecommunications, Chinese companies such as Huawei have been excluded from strategic markets in Europe, Canada, and Australia as the U.S. exerts pressure on its global allies. In semiconductors, from lithography systems to high-end silicon, China’s supply chain is choking as the U.S. has imposed intensive export controls worldwide. And now, in artificial intelligence (AI), China is running for unipolar leadership in supply chains and standards (to compete with the U.S.). Such competitions have resulted in various outcomes and implications regarding innovation and startups, trade and economic impact, and geopolitical tensions (Morrison, 2019). Indeed, new technologies are constantly emerging, and the impact on global politics is not limited to a single sector or discipline. They affect multiple areas, including policies, laws, governance, security, international relations, economics, and human rights (Manjikian, 2018). In other words, as the globalization of commercial competition and statehood is facilitated and accelerated in multiple unforeseen ways by emerging technologies and innovations (Franke & Torreblanca, 2021), global politics is also shaped by technological advancements in multiple ways.
Given the above practical and theoretical considerations, the perspective of global techno-politics (hereinafter GTP) has received increasing attention from scholars and practitioners. In general, GTP relates to the intersection of technology and global politics, where political decisions and actions are shaped and influenced by technological advancements, and in turn, technology is shaped and influenced by political decisions and actions (Eriksson & Newlove-Eriksson, 2021). GTP views technology as neither bad, good, nor neutral, and considers technology to be “deeply embedded into the global system” (Fritsch, 2011, p.28). A key argument of GTP is that technology is intricately linked and embedded within politics, rather than being viewed as an external or exogenous factor. It suggests that technology, politics, and broader social systems continually influence and modify one another.
GTP is, therefore, a broad concept and can encompass a broad range of issues, from the policymaking and regulation of emerging technologies such as AI and blockchain to the use and role of technology in warfare, national and world affairs, conflicts between nation-states, and multinational collaborations. It also involves debates around topics at the global level, such as digital privacy, cybersecurity, internet governance, and the impact of technology on social inequality, democracy, and human rights (Fritsch, 2014). It has also increasingly reflected the idea of the “competition state,” where businesses, institutions, and politicians are increasingly attentive to the applications, impacts, and governance of emerging technologies in almost all fields (May and Sell, 2005, Mayer et al., 2014).
Overall, GTP is a complex, rapidly evolving, and interdisciplinary field. Understanding the GTP landscape is essential for policymakers, technologists, and citizens to navigate the challenges and opportunities of the digital age and ensure that technology is developed and used to serve the public interest (Eriksson & Giacomello, 2007). To highlight these and help further our knowledge of GTP, in the present study, we seek to answer the following two research questions: 1) what is the current status of GTP research in the discipline of information systems (IS), and 2) what are some opportunities for future GTP research?
The paper proceeds as follows: we will provide an overview of the existing IS literature encompassing different issues related to the GTP concept. Following that, we will highlight gaps and present some opportunities and examples for future research. In closing, we will discuss the implications for practice and policy and some limitations of this study.
Source: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S026840122300110X
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