ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳

Subject Primer - Understanding and Mitigating Disinformation: A Primer for Policymakers and Stakeholders
Originally written for a roundtable organised by META, the Digital IR project at ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳ IDEAS, the ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳ Firoz Lalji Institute for Africa, and GK Partners, this subject primer explores what disinformation is, and the mechanisms and conditions in which it operates.

Enhancing Efforts at Global Digital Governance: Recommendations to the G20
July 2023

This G20 policy brief highlights the challenges in attaining effective global digital governance. These include uncertainty regarding the ethical, operational, and strategic implications of digital technologies, and limited avenues for private sector expertise. 

January 2023

This journal article examines how internet shutdowns are used by illiberal regimes such as Myanmmar and Belarus to suppress dissent and consolidate power.

Commentary - A Conversation with Brazil's Cyber Diplomat
February 2022

In this commentary, Louise Marie Hurel discusses the present and future pathways for Brazil’s foreign policy on cybersecurity with Minister Marcelo Câmara.

Commentary - The Threat of Virtual Summitry to the G7's Success
August 2021

In this commentary, Dr Tristen Naylor examines the digitalisation of diplomacy and the threat virtual summitry poses to the G7. This commentary is based on an academic journal article titled ‘All That’s Lost: The Hollowing of Summit Diplomacy in a Socially Distanced World’, published in The Hague Journal of Diplomacy.

Strategic Update - Twitter and Digital Diplomacy: China and COVID-19
June 2021

In this Strategic Update, Professor Chris Alden and Kenddrick Chan investigate China's use of Twitter as a diplomatic instrument during the COVID-19 pandemic and what the implications are going forward.

Working Paper - Social media's impact on political discourse in South Africa 
June 2021

In this Working Paper, Dr. Sue Onslow explores how social media platforms have impacted political discourse in South Africa.

Book Review - 2034: A Novel of the Next World War
June 2021

In this book review, Kenddrick Chan reviews this geopolitical thriller that envisions how great power conflict will play out in the digital era of the near future.

Strategic Update - Making Sense of Technological Spheres of Influence
April 2020

In this Strategic Update, Valentin Weber explains how we have arrived at this novel geopolitical arrangement, where in the world the greatest contestation lies, and what the future of technospheres may hold.

Strategic Update - A Digital Geneva Convention? The Role of the Private Sector in Cybersecurity
May 2018

In this Strategic Update, Raquel Vázquez Llorente explores what role the private sector should play in the global policy response, with companies on the 'front line' of the cyber threat often being more proactive than states. 

Strategic Update - Victors and Victims: Creating a Military for the Digital Age
February 2018

In this Strategic Update, General Sir Richard Barrons sets out 8 principles for how to create an effective military for the digital age. 

Strategic Update - The Laws of War and Cyberspace: On the Need for a Treaty Concerning Cyber Conflict
June 2014

In this Strategic Update, Benjamin Mueller examines the militarisation of cyberspace and considers ways to prevent the Internet from turning into a battlefield.

Subject Primer - The Infrastructures of Global Connectivity: 5G Networks
This primer outlines what 5G telecommunication networks are, how they function, and what the relevant policy considerations are, given ongoing debates.

Strategic Update - China's Digital Silk Road in Indonesia: Progress and Implications
July 2022

This Strategic Update discusses the progress of China’s Digital Silk Road in Indonesia, a major destination, in both its hard and soft aspects, as well as the potential impact of its implementation. Chinese companies are offering a response to Indonesia’s needs, but concerns exist, especially surrounding security and surveillance, that Indonesia’s increasing reliance on China could also further erode its democracy.

Working Paper - Assessing China’s Digital Silk Road: Huawei’s engagement in Nigeria
November 2021

 In this Working Paper, Nils Hungerland and Kenddrick Chan examine the implication of Huawei's engagement in Nigeria and its implications for the wider Chinese Digital Silk Road initiative.

Subject Primer: Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Data in the Fourth Industrial Revolution
Forthcoming

This primer outlines what artificial intelligence and machine learning is, what its limits are, and why 'big data' might or might not be the new oil as we head for the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Working Paper - Against the Grain: The data regulatory regimes of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan vis-à-vis Russia, China, and Big Tech
September 2022

This working paper explores the considerations Central Asian states of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan have when formulate their data regulatory policies, amid amid technical limitations in implementation.

Strategic Update - Power Dynamics in an Era of Big Data
March 2019

In this Strategic Update, Stacy Langworthy investigates a force under-explored and under-theorised in the world of International Relations and policy making: big data. Who can hold it? Who can harness it? What can it do?

December 2003

In this journal article from the early 2000s, Professor Chris Alden challenges the dubious assumptions within the G8's attempts to bridge the digital divide between the industrialised North and the South and the implications for global governance.

Diplomatic Roundtables on Global Digital Collaborations
2023 - 2024 

These invitation-only Diplomatic Roundtables are jointly organised by ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳ IDEAS, ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳ Firoz Lalji Institute for Africa (FLIA), and GK Partners, and META (formerly Facebook). They are high-level sessions featuring ambassadors, diplomats, and relevant experts discussing topics at the intersection of technology and diplomacy.

More details will be provided soon.