The Technopolitics Program examines the reciprocal relationship between technology and political power, exploring how technologies have evolved beyond being merely technical and economic tools to become fundamental elements shaping power, governance, security, and geopolitical competition.
The program is based on the premise that technology is not a politically neutral domain in the contemporary world. The design, development, control, and deployment of technologies can generate profound political and strategic consequences. Digital infrastructures, artificial intelligence systems, communication networks, technology standards, and supply chains have increasingly become arenas of competition, influence, and power projection among states, technology companies, and non-state actors.
This program investigates the mechanisms through which technologies reshape sovereignty, strategic autonomy, national security, and the international order. It also analyzes how states leverage technological capabilities to advance political, economic, and security objectives—from industrial policy and great power technology competition to emerging forms of technological dependency and influence.
At its core, the program approaches technology as a new dimension of power in the twenty-first century, where the ability to design, develop, control, and establish technological standards can become as consequential as traditional sources of power such as military capabilities, energy resources, and natural assets.
The CTST Technopolitics Program seeks to develop analytical frameworks for understanding a world transitioning toward a new technological order—one in which the boundaries between politics, economics, security, and technology are becoming increasingly intertwined.