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Technology

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Technologies, particularly digital and space technologies, raise political, strategic and economic issues that are profoundly transforming the dynamics of international competition and cooperation.

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Publications
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Sat-to-Cell: Towards Universal Connectivity?

Date de publication
25 September 2024
Accroche

Sat-to-Cell is a new type of service that connects smartphones directly to satellites. It has recently enabled innovative applications such as emergency text messaging via satellite. The technology is developing rapidly, and many questions are now being raised about its potential impact.

Paul WOHRER Eric BOTTLAENDER
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EUDIS, HEDI, DIANA: What's behind Three Defense Innovation Acronyms?

Date de publication
25 September 2024
Accroche

In Europe, with Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine showing little sign of abating, a persistent gap remains between security needs and defense spending. According to a 2006 commitment enshrined at the 2014 Wales NATO summit, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) members should disburse no less than 2% of their national gross domestic product (GDP) on defense, out of which 20% is to be spent on equipment and research and development. In 2024, only 23 Allies out of 32 are expected to meet or exceed this target, though a significant improvement from only three in 2014. This total includes the United States (US) devoting 3.38% of its GDP to defense, constituting almost 70% of all NATO member defense spending combined. 

Johanna MÖHRING
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Russia and the New BRICS Countries: Potentials and Limitations of a Scientific and Technological Cooperation

Date de publication
23 September 2024
Accroche

At the fifteenth BRICS summit, held in Johannesburg, South Africa, from August 22 to 24, 2023, a resolution was adopted to extend an invitation to six new countries to join the organization: Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). All of these countries except Argentina duly became members of BRICS in 2024, with the expanded group known as BRICS+. In addition to the political and economic advantages, it is assumed that the incorporation of these new countries could potentially facilitate their scientific and technological development.

Irina DEZHINA
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Funding A Rival: When the United States and Europe Invest in Chinese Tech

Date de publication
02 July 2024
Accroche

Outbound investments into rival powers are receiving increasing political attention on both sides of the Atlantic, as competition between the United States and China intensifies. The concern lies with American and European investments in certain Chinese technologies - such as artificial intelligence, biotechnology, semiconductors, or quantum computing - which could enable China to enhance its military capabilities and thus may pose risks to national and international security.

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Groundbreaking Chip Sovereignty: Europe’s Strategic Push in the Semiconductor Race

Date de publication
31 May 2024
Accroche

The EU Chips Act’s enactment in September 2023 marks a major policy shift that revitalizes industrial policy in Europe. By allowing state subsidies for semiconductor projects, it has the potential to secure Europe’s supply chain security and technological autonomy in an industry dominated by the US and East Asia.

Arrian EBRAHIMI
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NATO's New Ambitions for Space

Date de publication
04 April 2024
Accroche

Ahead of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, a devastating cyber attack targets Ukrainian army communications, exposing Western dependence and vulnerability to space technologies, and calling NATO's defensive posture into question.

Béatrice HAINAUT
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A Splintered Internet? Internet Fragmentation and the Strategies of China, Russia, India and the European Union

Date de publication
27 February 2024
Accroche

From the Covid-19 pandemic to the ramifications of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, international events are fueling fears of an accelerated fragmentation of the global Internet. 

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2024: A Pivotal Year for the Space Sector?

Date de publication
21 November 2023
Accroche

2024 could be a pivotal year for space exploration. New launchers are set to make their first flight, satellite constellations and other trends  promise to redefine the way space is explored and exploited.

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Balancing Security and Openness for Critical Technologies: Challenges for French and European Research

Date de publication
11 October 2023
Accroche

While matters related to research security and international partnerships in critical domains are certainly not new, they have become increasingly central to governments, research institutions and industry since the turn of the 2020s.

How to Curb Investments in Chinese Technology: Initiatives and Debates in the United States

Date de publication
31 August 2023
Accroche

In a continuation of U.S. efforts to slow China's development and acquisition of strategic technologies, Washington has imposed new restrictions on American investment in Chinese technology sectors such as artificial intelligence (AI), quantum, and semiconductors.

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NATO's New Ambitions for Space

Date de publication
04 April 2024
Accroche

Ahead of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, a devastating cyber attack targets Ukrainian army communications, exposing Western dependence and vulnerability to space technologies, and calling NATO's defensive posture into question.

Béatrice HAINAUT
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A Splintered Internet? Internet Fragmentation and the Strategies of China, Russia, India and the European Union

Date de publication
27 February 2024
Accroche

From the Covid-19 pandemic to the ramifications of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, international events are fueling fears of an accelerated fragmentation of the global Internet. 

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2024: A Pivotal Year for the Space Sector?

Date de publication
21 November 2023
Accroche

2024 could be a pivotal year for space exploration. New launchers are set to make their first flight, satellite constellations and other trends  promise to redefine the way space is explored and exploited.

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Balancing Security and Openness for Critical Technologies: Challenges for French and European Research

Date de publication
11 October 2023
Accroche

While matters related to research security and international partnerships in critical domains are certainly not new, they have become increasingly central to governments, research institutions and industry since the turn of the 2020s.

How to Curb Investments in Chinese Technology: Initiatives and Debates in the United States

Date de publication
31 August 2023
Accroche

In a continuation of U.S. efforts to slow China's development and acquisition of strategic technologies, Washington has imposed new restrictions on American investment in Chinese technology sectors such as artificial intelligence (AI), quantum, and semiconductors.

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China in the Race to Low Earth Orbit: Perspectives on the Future Internet Constellation Guowang

Date de publication
27 April 2023
Accroche

In April 2021, the Chinese government officially, but rather quietly, established a new state-owned enterprise (SOE) named China SatNet. Its mission: build out China’s “mega-constellation” program for low Earth orbiting internet satellites, known as Guowang (“national network”).

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The Technology Policies of Digital Middle Powers

Date de publication
24 February 2023
Accroche

Digital technology is an element of power in the international system as well as an area for competition among countries. The study provides a qualitative comparison of the technology policies of nine of the digital middle powers: Brazil, India, Israel, Japan, Kenya, Nigeria, Russia, South Korea, and the United Kingdom. It seeks to reflect the diversity of national technology policies, as well as to identify those countries’ convergences and divergences with Europe, the United States and China. 

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Digital Sovereignty: European Policies, American Dilemmas

Date de publication
31 January 2023
Accroche

European digital sovereignty has been made a priority by Ursula von der Leyen’s European Commission. Due to the privileged position of American companies in the European market, Brussels’ efforts towards digital sovereignty (on privacy, antitrust, data sovereignty, etc.) are closely scrutinized by American policymakers. 

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Software Power: The Economic and Geopolitical Implications of Open Source Software

Date de publication
12 December 2022
Accroche

Open source is at the heart of the Internet infrastructure, of the software used by individuals or governments, and of the innovation processes of tech companies. Faced with threats to the security and sustainability of the open source model, governments are getting a hold of the topic, which is becoming increasingly geopolitical.

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Neither Surveillance nor Algorithm-driven Consumerism. Toward an Alternative European Model for Smart Cities

Date de publication
16 November 2022
Accroche

Numerous smart city projects are emerging, guided by objectives of efficiency and improvement of public policies. All of them are based on intensive use of data and digital tools, but their concrete achievements take various forms. Some models are being exported and are becoming levers of influence, while Europe is still looking for its own path.

Jacques PRIOL Joé VINCENT-GALTIE

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Ifri, a foundation recognized as being of public utility, relies largely on private donors – companies and individuals – to guarantee its sustainability and intellectual independence. Through their funding, donors help maintain the Institute's position among the world's leading think tanks. By benefiting from an internationally recognized network and expertise, donors refine their understanding of geopolitical risk and its consequences on global politics and the economy. In 2024, Ifri will support more than 70 French and foreign companies and organizations.

Ramses Conference, 2024
Related centers and programs
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Russian spaceship in orbit of planet Earth, View from the ISS station
Space Program
Accroche centre

Space has become a crucial theme in the main international think tanks’ research activities as it entails important strategic, economic, and technological issues.

Since 2001, Ifri has integrated space in its research, notably by ensuring that the political dimension of scientific and human exploration programs is emphasized, and by supporting reflections on the Code of Conduct for Outter Space Activities.

Today, as part of its research agenda, Ifri mobilizes several of its centers and programs to transversally tackle the theme of space, through three main inputs:

  • the competition of powers, driven by the Sino-American rivalry;
  • critical points related to mastery of space, such as the issue of autonomous access to space or the mega-constellations necessary for the digital revolution;
  • these developments’ challenges for Europe and its status as a space power.

Since the Summer 2020, Ifri has been coordinating a tripartite European Space Governance Initiative, together with two other renowned European think tanks: the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Auswärtige Politik (DGAP) in Germany and the Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI) in Italy.

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Authentic Modern High Tech Robot Weapon
Center for Geopolitics of Technology
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Artificial intelligence (AI), 5G, cybersecurity, robotics, semiconductors, space... Technology, especially in the digital domain, is now deeply affecting all human activities and, by extension, international relations. The resulting political, strategic, economic and social issues manifest themselves at multiple political scales involving states, international organizations and private companies. The dynamics of international competition and cooperation are transformed.

It is to respond to these challenges that Ifri is launching the Geopolitics of Technology program in the fall of 2020, which builds on the work it already carried out on these subjects for several years.

The program takes a resolutely European approach to international issues related to so-called critical technologies. Its work is organized around four cross-cutting themes:

  • Power: redistributions of power caused by new technologies, in particular digital; military and dual innovations; transformations of international competition;
  • Sovereignty: definition of critical infrastructures and technologies; industrial and innovation policies in strategic sectors; opportunities and risks associated with international value chains;
  • Governance: ethical and legal issues; interactions between companies, states, international organizations and users; public-private partnerships and GovTech;
  • Society: political and social impacts of technological innovations; risks and opportunities for the future of work, health, the fight against climate change; connectivity and economic development.
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Humanoid using holographic futuristic touch screen
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