Cybersecurity, Emerging Technologies and Geopolitics 2100-ERASMUS-CETG

This course examines the complex relationship between technological innovation,
cybersecurity, and global politics. It explores how emerging technologies such as artificial
intelligence, quantum computing, and digital platforms are transforming the nature of power,
conflict, and cooperation in the international system, while also being shaped by geopolitical
rivalries and strategic interests. The course introduces key conceptual frameworks such as
realism, liberal institutionalism, constructivism, and technorealism to explain the political and
strategic implications of digital transformation. Topics include cyber warfare and deterrence,
digital sovereignty, surveillance capitalism, the geopolitics of data, and the political economy
of Big Tech. Through these perspectives, students will examine how digital infrastructures
and algorithms redefine security threats, influence democratic governance, and reshape
international norms.
The course also highlights the policy implications of emerging technologies for national
governments, international organizations, and private companies. Each week students will
assess how different political systems respond to issues such as cybersecurity regulation,
digital rights, and competition policy, and how technology governance can promote security,
accountability, and democratic resilience. Each class session will include a short lecture from
the instructor, followed by discussion and a student-led presentation. The format encourages
active participation, critical analysis, and workshop-style engagement with both theory and
real-world cases.
Weekly Themes
1. Introduction to Technology and Global Politics
This section introduces the course’s main themes, explaining how emerging technologies
influence and are influenced by global power structures, security paradigms, and geopolitical
competition. It outlines the conceptual connections between technology, governance, and
international relations. It also introduces foundational and contemporary theories from
political science, security studies, and international relations, including realism, liberalism,
constructivism, and technorealism. These frameworks provide analytical tools to interpret
how technological change affects state behavior and global order. In the following week,
students will divide into groups or pairs and choose the theme they wish to present in
subsequent sessions.
2. Cyber Power and Strategic Competition
This part examines cyberspace as a domain of power projection and rivalry. Topics include
cyber deterrence, espionage, hybrid warfare, and the strategic logic of offensive and
defensive cyber operations.
3. Semiconductors and Geopolitics
An exploration of how semiconductor production, supply chains, and technological
dependencies shape global competition. Focus on the strategic roles of Taiwan, the United
States, China, and the EU in the global chip industry.
4. China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and Digital Silk Road (DSR)
This session analyzes the geopolitical and technological implications of China’s BRI and
DSR. Discussion centers on infrastructure diplomacy, digital connectivity, and global
influence through technology exports.
5. Surveillance, Privacy and Control
This section addresses how digital surveillance reshapes social and political relations. Focus
on surveillance capitalism, state control, data extraction, and implications for privacy and
human rights.
6. Open Internet vs. Digital Sovereignty
Students examine global tensions between the ideal of an open, interoperable internet and
efforts by states to assert control through digital sovereignty.
7. Big Tech in Politics
An analysis of how major technology corporations influence policy, governance, and political
discourse. Topics include technofeudalism, lobbying power, and global regulatory challenges.
8. Democracy and Digital Authoritarianism
Study of how emerging technologies affect democratic institutions and authoritarian regimes.
Topics include disinformation, algorithmic manipulation, censorship, and digital repression.
9. Hybrid Warfare
Examination of how digital tools are integrated into hybrid conflicts that combine
conventional, cyber, and informational strategies. Case studies include Iran, Russia, Ukraine,
and NATO’s responses.
10. Technology Policy and Geopolitics
This session explores the intersection between domestic technology policy and international
power competition. Focus on industrial policy, export controls, and global standards setting.
11. Artificial Intelligence and Data Centers Politics
Investigation of AI infrastructure, computational power, and the geopolitics of data centers.
Discussion includes energy consumption, data localization, and strategic control of AI
ecosystems.
12. Cybersecurity and Human Factors
Focus on the behavioral and societal dimensions of cybersecurity. Discussion covers risk
perception, trust, and human vulnerabilities, linking technical systems with human and
political dynamics.
Each week includes a combination of short lecture, guided discussion, and a student-led
presentation or workshop.