The project Competition in the Digital Era (CODE): Geopolitics and Technology in the 21st Century has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme (Grant agreement No 101116328) for the period January 2024 – December 2029.

CODE examines technological competition between China, the United States (US) and Europe in three key sectors for contemporary economics and geopolitics: semiconductors, cloud computing and space. Theoretically, the project aims to integrate analytical tools from international relations, political economy and management and innovation to provide a comprehensive theory to explain the dynamics of competition for access to and control of critical technologies. Methodologically, the project aims to use qualitative and quantitative tools to measure technological competition, as well as markets and patent databases, which will then be analysed using network analysis and machine learning tools. Empirically, the project will focus on three of the most important sectors where technological competition is currently taking place: semiconductors, cloud computing and space technology.

CODE aims to build a multidisciplinary research group, ideally including researchers with quantitative and qualitative skills who are interested in technological and geopolitical competition. The project will zoom in on the following themes:

• technological competition between China, the US and Europe and its geopolitical implications;
• geoeconomics, European strategic autonomy and technological sovereignty;
• China’s industrial and innovation policy;
• the return of industrial policy in the US and Europe;
• the role of digital technologies, big data and artificial intelligence in international politics;
• the role of public and private actors in space policy in China, the US and Europe;
• state-business relations and economic statecraft; and
• the role of commercial technologies and the private sector in the field of security and defence.

The project will run for five years, and will result in several academic workshops, publications and conferences.

For further information on this project, please contact Dr Antonio Calcara.

Funded by the European Union.

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