Technology
Technologies, particularly digital and space technologies, raise political, strategic and economic issues that are profoundly transforming the dynamics of international competition and cooperation.
Related Subjects
Semiconductors: how the United States is suffocating China
The United States are ramping up its efforts to deny China access to the most advanced semiconductors powering smartphones, personal computers and the latest generation of supercomputers.
Digital Sovereignty: European Policies, American Dilemmas
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.
Software Power: The Economic and Geopolitical Implications of Open Source Software
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.
Europe-US resolve on China proves short-lived ahead of key meetings in Beijing and Washington
Neither Surveillance nor Algorithm-driven Consumerism. Toward an Alternative European Model for Smart Cities
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.
We need to talk about Xi Jinping: G7’s discord over powerful trading partner
Disagreements have opened up about strategy when China is also seen as an existential threat. Western powers in the G7 group of nations are failing to coordinate their China strategies, senior western officials admit, adding that the need to do so has been given sharp impetus by Xi Jinping’s consolidation of power at this month’s Communist party congress.
Round Up Of New Reports On OpenRAN Security
Following assertions of OpenRAN solutions offering costs cuts and shortcuts to 5G and even claims of superior security, a series of reports from governments, scientific labs, security expert and think tanks investigate the technology. They showcase perspectives from the United State, the European Union, and emerging countries.
“Open” Telecom Networks (Open RAN): Towards a Reconfiguration of International Competition in 5G?
In line with the anti-Huawei diplomatic campaign of the Trump and Biden administrations, the United States has promoted an alternative: Open RAN, a concept defined by "open" network architectures. At the intersection of 5G geopolitics and standards, what risks and opportunities does Open RAN present for European technological sovereignty?
Reindustrializing France: Challenges of the Digital and Environmental Transformation
To succeed in the challenge of reindustrializing France, French and European companies must undertake a dual process of digital and environmental transformation, in a context of international competition.
The Pacific caught in the World Wide Web? Geopolitics of submarine cables in Oceania
This article provides a review of the digital connectivity of the Pacific Islands nations (Polynesia, Melanesia, and Micronesia) and the main challenges and prospects arising from it, at a time when the submarine cable market is undergoing profound change and a growing politicization of this technology on the international scene.
Critical technologies and industrial capabilities: National definitions and implications. The French case.
France has historically paid significant attention to strategic technologies and industries, whether they were strictly defence- and nuclear deterrence related, or considered as vectors of national independence and security, more broadly.
Cyberspace Governance in China: Evolution, Features and Future Trends
As China’s political relations with most of the world’s technologically advanced states have worsened, Beijing has put in place the world’s most comprehensive regulatory and administrative system for governing cyberspace.
Fishing for Chips: Assessing the EU Chips Act
China, the United States, and the European Union (EU) are currently developing strategies for semiconductors aimed at financing R&D and the installation of new factories on their territories, in particular through subsidies. The EU Chips Act, announced in February 2022, represents a real break in Europe's industrial policy.
The Political Economy of the Metaverse
The "metaverse", at the heart of the strategy of large digital companies such as Facebook (Meta), does not yet exist and it will take decades to build it. This briefing provides an overview of the issues.
Implications of the Global Supply Chain Reform: A Taiwanese Perspective
How have both the private and public sectors in Taiwan sought to mitigate the challenges posed by the reform agenda for global supply chains (GSCs)?
Delhi to Paris: A strategic partnership
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to France on May 4 is his fifth since 2015, and the 10th such high-level bilateral visit.
Meet the woman researching the geopolitics of technology
Alice Pannier is leading a new programme looking at the relationship between technology and geopolitical alliances. Recent events have proven this to be more important than ever.
Europe’s Quest for Technological Power
Computing power plays a key role in enabling data analytics and machine learning, in cybersecurity, for scientific research, and in military domains like nuclear warhead design and detonation simulation.
Digital Sovereignty Review of Macron’s Term and Debates in the 2022 Presidential Campaign
One month before the French presidential election, this briefing assesses the actions undertaken during Macron's term as well as the presidential candidates' proposals concerning France's digital sovereignty.
The Space Downstream Sector: Challenges for the Emergence of a European Space Economy
As the commercial anchor of the space sector, the downstream sector plays an essential role in Europe where industry focuses mainly on application markets and where socio-economic considerations have become the main driver of space policy.
EUDIS, HEDI, DIANA: What's behind Three Defense Innovation Acronyms?
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.
Russia and the New BRICS Countries: Potentials and Limitations of a Scientific and Technological Cooperation
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.
Funding A Rival: When the United States and Europe Invest in Chinese Tech
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.
NATO's New Ambitions for Space
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.
A Splintered Internet? Internet Fragmentation and the Strategies of China, Russia, India and the European Union
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.
2024: A Pivotal Year for the Space Sector?
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.
Balancing Security and Openness for Critical Technologies: Challenges for French and European Research
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
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.
China in the Race to Low Earth Orbit: Perspectives on the Future Internet Constellation Guowang
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”).
The Technology Policies of Digital Middle Powers
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.
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 2026, Ifri partners with over 90 French and international companies and organizations.
Space Program
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.
Center for Geopolitics of Technology
Artificial intelligence (AI), 5G, cybersecurity, robotics, semiconductors, space…Technologies—particularly digital technologies—now profoundly affect all human activities and, by extension, international relations. The political, strategic, economic, and social stakes that arise from them are expressed across multiple political levels, involving states, international organizations, and private companies alike. International dynamics of competition and cooperation are being reshaped as a result. To address these challenges, Ifri launched its Geopolitics of Technology Center in 2020, offering a distinctly European perspective on the international issues surrounding so-called critical technologies.