Technology and power in global politics

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Whoever leads in advanced technology gains economic power (wealth, standards), military power (drones, cyber), structural power (control of platforms) and soft power (shaping how people think).

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Both, and it is contested: states are accountable to voters, but Big Tech companies control the platforms, data and networks billions depend on, with reach that can rival governments while being unelected.

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The small number of dominant global technology companies (search, social media, cloud, chips) whose power over platforms and data can rival that of states.

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The gap between those with access to technology and the internet and those without — between countries and within them (rich/poor, urban/rural).

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Advanced technology is built through connected global systems (chip supply chains, cables, shared platforms) that bind countries together in mutual dependence.

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If a country or firm controls a chokepoint — the best chips, key software, a dominant platform — it can restrict others' access as leverage, turning supply chains into weapons of pressure.

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The lasting leverage that comes from controlling the networks, standards and platforms that others depend on, since access can be granted or withdrawn.

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By giving poorer people and countries access to information, banking, education and markets, letting them 'leapfrog' older stages of development.

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The digital divide leaves the unconnected behind as the connected pull ahead, while the wealth and power of dominant tech firms concentrate at the top.

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Because it asks whether power over the digital world is held by governments we can vote out or by private companies we cannot hold to account.

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It can do either — the effect depends on who controls it and how access is shared, so the political task is to spread access AND hold the controllers accountable.