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92. Assessing Indian digital trade policies: Will they support a $5 trillion economy?
- Author:
- Mark Linscott
- Publication Date:
- 06-2020
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Atlantic Council
- Abstract:
- The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has forced nearly all public policy questions to be seen through the lens of how to detect and respond to the disease as it spreads rapidly across the globe. These include obvious questions of national health care policy and whether there is a place for international efforts to coordinate their national responses. Trade policy has come to the fore as a growing number of countries restrict exports of critical medical supplies to ensure sufficient availability for patients in-country. In this crisis, international collaboration to keep trade flowing has been limited and has not prevented many countries from imposing new trade restrictions. The importance of digital policies has grown as countries seek to harness the tools of big data, artificial intelligence (AI), and vital infrastructure to trace outbreaks of the virus and assist efforts to find cures and vaccines. While digital tools are proving vital in efforts to track outbreaks and trace contacts, legitimate concerns are growing about potentially invasive government surveillance even after the virus retreats. These policy areas—health, trade, and digital—overlap in the international, national, and local efforts to reduce the duration of the pandemic and mitigate its effects with respect to human lives and economic well-being. The analysis in this paper, while initially conducted before anyone had ever heard of COVID-19, has been impacted by its sudden emergence and will likely require updating to assess the experiences of this ongoing crisis. The paper, which focuses on the U.S.-India bilateral relationship, concludes with a series of questions, as opposed to policy recommendations. This is due partly to the very complexity that all governments confront in mapping out digital policies given the ubiquitous role digital networks and devices play in our daily lives. But these questions may have even more tangible relevance now that COVID-19 is forcing a reckoning with a severe interruption in global economic growth, which could be on the scale of the Great Depression in the 1930s. Ultimately, the governments of India, the United States, and other nations will determine for themselves what answers are relevant to their individual circumstances.
- Topic:
- Economy, Business, Trade, and Digital Policy
- Political Geography:
- South Asia, Canada, India, North America, and United States of America
93. The next phase of digitalization in Central and Eastern Europe: 2020 and beyond
- Author:
- Frances Burwell and Jörn Fleck
- Publication Date:
- 02-2020
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Atlantic Council
- Abstract:
- The countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) possess fundamental strengths that uniquely position the region to capitalize on the next wave of digitalization – solid education systems, a large talent pool of “STEM” graduates, widely adopted digitally enabled services, and fewer technology legacies. But, these advantages alone do not mean that Central and Eastern Europe will automatically succeed in this digital transition. One key factor of success will be the ability of these countries— all of them in the European Union—to cooperate in this effort across the region, for both their future economic development and their political influence within Europe and in the transatlantic relationship. In this think piece, Atlantic Council Distinguished Fellow Frances Burwell and Future Europe Initiative Associate Director Jörn Fleck explore how to take forward digitalization in Central and Eastern Europe, especially within the framework of the Three Seas Initiative (3SI).
- Topic:
- Diplomacy, European Union, Economy, Business, and Digital Policy
- Political Geography:
- Europe, Eastern Europe, and Central Europe
94. Surveillance, Control and Disinformation Technology
- Publication Date:
- 08-2020
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- World Politics Review
- Abstract:
- For years, activists, academics and watchdogs have characterized the spyware industry as out of control, with technology outpacing the laws designed to constrain the industry’s activities. In January 2020, the nefarious potential of such technology was vividly demonstrated when the heir to the Saudi kingdom apparently used Israeli-made spyware to breach the personal phone of the world’s richest man, who owns a leading American newspaper and runs one of the world’s most valuable publicly traded companies. Meanwhile, the growing prevalence of facial recognition technology in authoritarian countries like Russia and the United Arab Emirates, which use it to monitor activists and suppress dissent, has raised increasing alarm among human rights advocates. Perhaps the most egregious example is in China, where the government has used facial recognition technology to racially profile Uighurs, a predominantly Muslim ethnic minority that is concentrated in Xinjiang province, and forcibly lock them up in internment camps. But authoritarian countries are not alone: This technology is now being harnessed for law enforcement and surveillance purposes in many democracies.
- Topic:
- Intelligence, Science and Technology, Digital Economy, Surveillance, Police, Artificial Intelligence, Police State, Digital Revolution, Digitization, Digital Policy, and Emerging Technology
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
95. NATO and 5G: Managing “High Risk” Vendors and Other Outsourced Infrastructure
- Author:
- Clodagh Quain and Isabelle Roccia
- Publication Date:
- 05-2020
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Women In International Security (WIIS)
- Abstract:
- Fifth-generation telecommunications (5G) technology promises to dramatically increase the interconnectedness and efficiency of commercial and civilian communication infrastructures. 5G will also enable other advances. On the civilian side, it will improve existing applications and give rise to others, from telemedicine to connected cars. It also presents an opportunity to enhance NATO’s capabilities, improving logistics, maintenance, and communications. For instance, 5G will speed communication and improve response time in a theater of operation.
- Topic:
- NATO, Science and Technology, International Security, Communications, Cybersecurity, 5G, and Digital Policy
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
96. Stronger Together: NATO’s Evolving Approach toward China
- Author:
- Naďa Kovalčíková and Gabrielle Tarin
- Publication Date:
- 05-2020
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Women In International Security (WIIS)
- Abstract:
- The rise of China poses a strategic challenge for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The Alliance needs a comprehensive political, economic, and security strategy to deal with China’s growing global power. The more assertive a role China plays in world affairs, the more it could undercut NATO’s cohesion and military advantages by translating commercial inroads in Europe into political influence, investing in strategically important sectors, and achieving major breakthroughs in advanced digital technologies.
- Topic:
- NATO, Science and Technology, International Security, Digital Cooperation, and Digital Policy
- Political Geography:
- United States, China, and Europe
97. Sovereign Europe, dangerous world: Five agendas to protect Europe’s capacity to act
- Author:
- Mark Leonard and Jeremy Shapiro
- Publication Date:
- 12-2020
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR)
- Abstract:
- In the last year, Europe has begun to recognise the need to defend its sovereignty in a threatening world. Covid-19 has revealed and exacerbated many of Europe’s existing vulnerabilities; the European Union and its member states remain unable to act autonomously in key areas of national life. Based on ECFR research, we propose five sovereignty agendas in health, economic, digital, climate change, and traditional security, all designed to promote a more sovereign Europe on that issues that matter most to Europeans. Europe must not relinquish its rules-based approach or lapse into protectionism. But, to protect the open, multilateral order they so cherish, Europeans need to promote new rules permitting them to take action against countries that undermine the international system. The EU’s €750 billion pandemic recovery fund offers the chance to underwrite this ambition – but, ultimately, Europeans need to master the art of acting as a geopolitical force in the world.
- Topic:
- Security, Climate Change, Economics, Health, Sovereignty, European Union, and Digital Policy
- Political Geography:
- Europe
98. Brazil-China Post-Covid-19: The Digital City
- Author:
- Philip Yang, Chen Cai, Gao Changlin, Luciana Gama Muniz, Marcelo Motta, Miguel Pinto Guimarães, Renata Fraga, and Washington Fajardo
- Publication Date:
- 09-2020
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Brazilian Center for International Relations (CEBRI)
- Abstract:
- Bilateral cooperation emerging from post-Covid-19 transformations brings challenges and opportunities, with the strengthening of digital cities standing out. This report presents the topics discussed in the webinar "Brazil-China post-Covid-19: The Digital City", held by CEBRI in partnership with the Embassy of China. Miguel Pinto Guimarães points out that "the future is being built by China over the last two decades at a fantastic growing speed that was made possible by planning, education, and intelligence". Chen Cai states that urban planning in large centers needs to be inclusive. "The objective of the smart cities is to have equality and services for everybody living in these cities, not only for some people."
- Topic:
- International Trade and Finance, Bilateral Relations, Cities, COVID-19, and Digital Policy
- Political Geography:
- China, Asia, Brazil, and South America
99. Israeli Cyberpower: The Unfinished Development of the Start-up Nation?
- Author:
- Thierry Noël
- Publication Date:
- 11-2020
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Institut français des relations internationales (IFRI)
- Abstract:
- Israel’s economic success in the cyber sector is undeniable. It is due to the development of an ecosystem encouraging the mastery of digital innovation. It is supported by proactive digital diplomacy and underpinned by unmatched military cybercapabilities in the region. However, its rapid growth exposes structural weaknesses from an economic point of view and raises questions about the role that Israeli democracy seeks to play on the world stage.
- Topic:
- Science and Technology, Cybersecurity, Innovation, and Digital Policy
- Political Geography:
- Middle East and Israel
100. GovTech, The New Frontier in Digital Sovereignty
- Author:
- Clément Tonon
- Publication Date:
- 11-2020
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Institut français des relations internationales (IFRI)
- Abstract:
- The COVID-19 crisis has been a catalyst for a surge in the GovTech market, while triggering debate around the use of new technologies in the public health response to the pandemic. More broadly, the health crisis has shed a new light on the strategic importance of some domains relevant to GovTech such as HealthTech, smart cities and EdTech. The French State has developed a comprehensive policy of government digitization but still suffers from a lack of investment in the GovTech sector: so far, it has been unable to nurture a GovTech ecosystem comparable to the French defense technological and industrial base. At the European level, the rise of GovTech solutions could deepen existing divides between member states, as shown by the uncoordinated development of tracing apps by European countries during the crisis. In the long run, the lack of European industrial and political strategy focusing on GovTech could turn Europe into a battleground for Chinese and American actors, which benefit from governmental support at home and abroad. The rise of GovTech companies challenges deeply rooted ideas on the meaning of the public sector and the role of the State. It underlines how technology can affect the values and core principles of democratic societies. In that sense, the growing technological competition between the US, China and Europe means much more than economic rivalry: it is a real threat to European democracy and strategic autonomy.
- Topic:
- Government, Science and Technology, Sovereignty, COVID-19, Digital Policy, and Health Crisis
- Political Geography:
- China, United Kingdom, France, Estonia, Singapore, and United States of America