Big Tech Firms and International Relations: The Role of the Nation-State in New Forms of Power (Contributions to International Relations)

This book presents cutting-edge research and exploration of the role of nation-state when big tech firms present themselves as new participants in contemporary international relations that act on an equal footing with nation-states. The general research goal of this book is to identify the justifications that nation-states have adopted to regulate the big tech firms and the impacts of this process on international trade in the main economies in the world. With the massive instrumentation of data, big tech firms have become actors with the capacity to intervene not only in economies but also, above all, in the politics of different countries with different systems. The emergence of big tech firms has transformed the approach to the concepts of national security, information management and access to new technologies among nation-states. The principles and fundamentals of cyber sovereignty have become one of the bases of states in the contemporary system of international relations. Today, the influence of big tech firms in different societies in the contemporary world is one of the main forms of power. This book tries to collect and present the recent state of the art in studies on the relationship between big tech firms and nation-states in the literature. It also addresses how governments such as those of the US, China and the EU are changing their legislation, creating control and data security mechanisms, imposing entry restrictions on foreign companies, and regulating the actions beyond the cloud of big tech firms inside and outside their borders. Preface Contents 1 Big Tech and the Nation-State 1.1 The Role of Technology in the International Arena 1.1.1 Digital Technology and International Relations Theory 1.1.2 Digital Technology as a Threat to the Role of the State 1.2 Digital Technology and the Major World Powers: The United States, China, and Russia 1.2.1 The Technological Development of the United States 1.2.2 China’s Digital Economy Boom 1.2.3 Russia’s Endeavors to Develop an Independent Digital Ecosystem 1.3 Digital Technology in the Global South 1.3.1 Digital Colonialism 1.3.2 The Quest for Digital Sovereignty in Developing Countries 1.4 Concluding Remarks References 2 Cyber-Politics in U.S.–China Relations: Big Tech and the Trade War 2.1 International Relations in the Digital Era 2.1.1 The Role of Technology in International Relations 2.1.2 Cyberspace: A New Domain of International Relations 2.1.3 The Race to 5G 2.2 Theoretical Framework of the China–U.S. Technological Rivalry: IPE and Realism 2.3 Technological Cooperation and Competition Between China and the United States 2.3.1 Donald Trump: “America First” and Protectionism 2.3.2 Joe Biden: A Softer Approach to the Same War 2.4 Concluding Remarks References 3 Big Tech Containment Policies of the European Union 3.1 The China–US–EU Triangle in Technological Sectors 3.2 The Race to 5G in Europe 3.3 Containment Policies of the European Union 3.4 Europe’s Digital Sovereignty 3.5 Concluding Remarks References 4 The World Trade Organization and the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement: Analog Trade Rules in a Digital Era 4.1 The Digital Economy and Digital Trade 4.2 The Challenges of the Digital Economy and Digital Trade 4.3 COVID-19 and Developments in the Global Digital Economy 4.4 Current Progress of International Collaboration Over the Digital Economy 4.5 Motivations for International Cooperation 4.6 Concluding Remarks References Conclusion Index Preface -- Big Tech Firms and the Nation-State -- Cyber politics in US-China relations: Big tech firms and the trade war -- The EU and containment policies toward US and Chinese big tech firms -- The WTO and the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement: Analog Trading in Digital Times -- Conclusion