Technology
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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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)?
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.
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.
Convince and Coerce: U.S. Interference in Technology Exchanges Between its Allies and China
The tough-on-China policy adopted by the Trump and Biden administrations has – and will increasingly have – important consequences for Washington’s allies, both on their infrastructure choices (5G, submarine cables...) and on their technological exchanges with China.
Europe and the Geopolitics of 5G: Walking a Technological Tightrope
The acute Sino-American tensions which started in 2018 have been coupled with controversies around 5G technology, exemplified by the spotlight placed on Chinese equipment manufacturer Huawei and the security risks associated with its use. For Europe, the 5G challenge at the international level is drawing a very complex landscape.
Strengthening Sovereignty in the Era of Global Value Chains
How to reduce the vulnerabilities induced by these global value chains to be more independent, while taking into account the reality of these productive processes which precisely generate interdependencies?
Le cloud défense : défi opérationnel, impératif stratégique et enjeu de souveraineté
Cloud computing – or data management – is considered as one of the pillars of the digital transformation of the French Ministry of the Armed Forces.
Strategic Calculation: High-Performance Computing and Quantum Computing in Europe’s Quest for Technological Power
Computing power plays a key role in enabling machine learning, for scientific research, and in the military domain. Therefore, the race for computing power has become a key element of the US-China technological competition, and it is also a strategic priority for Europe.
The Changing Landscape of European Cloud Computing: Gaia-X, the French National Strategy, and EU Plans
Non-European cloud service providers host the vast majority of European data, which is viewed as an economic as well as a political problem. Gaia-X, European governments and the European Union aim to bolster the European cloud market while responding to data privacy and cybersecurity concerns.
Health Data Governance: Lessons Learned from the COVID-19 Pandemic in Europe, China, and the United States
The health crisis has triggered a tectonic movement in the recomposition of health data governance and protection models around the world, while accelerating the investment of large digital companies in the field of e-health.
Europe in the Geopolitics of Technology: Connecting the Internal and External Dimensions
To respond to growing global competition, the EU has made notable progress on the internal dimension of technology policy over the past 3 years. It is now also seeking to adapt its foreign policy – from the transatlantic relationship to global partnerships – to technological challenges.
Cyber-influence : les nouveaux enjeux de la lutte informationnelle
The coming of age of a digital “info sphere” has dramatically changed the nature of military information support strategy.
Support independent French research
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 2025, Ifri supports more than 80 French and foreign companies and organizations.
Related centers and programs
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.