Technology, Power, and Statecraft: Harnessing Emerging Technologies in the 21St Century
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This graduate seminar examines how emerging technologies are reshaping the practice of diplomacy, the exercise of state power, and the geography of international relations. As artificial intelligence, quantum computing, biotechnology, and other frontier technologies increasingly determine economic competitiveness and military advantage, states face unprecedented challenges in crafting coherent strategies that integrate industrial policy, diplomatic engagement, and national security imperatives. The course interrogates how states use industrial policy tools—from subsidies and export controls to research investments and standard-setting—to secure technological advantages while managing the diplomatic consequences of these choices. It will examine emerging frameworks for technology governance, including attempts at international norm-setting, multilateral export control regimes, and bilateral technology agreements that blur traditional boundaries between economic and security policy. Through case studies spanning semiconductor competition, AI governance initiatives, quantum technology supply chains, and biotechnology data sharing, the seminar explores how technological change is producing new forms of statecraft. Students will grapple with questions of techno-nationalism versus international cooperation, the role of private sector actors in shaping foreign policy outcomes, and how states balance innovation imperatives against security concerns. The course prepares students to think strategically about technology policy as a central domain of contemporary international relations, equipping them to analyze and contribute to debates at the intersection of technological change and state power.
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