Techno-Nationalism: How It's Reshaping Trade, Geopolitics and Society

by Alex Capri

Essential perspective on the emerging role of techno-nationalism in global relations, trade and geopolitics TECHNO-Nationalism  holds that a nation’s security, economic competitiveness and social stability are linked to the technological prowess of its institutions and enterprises. Alex Capri draws upon decades of experience in US-China commerce and reveals how techno-nationalism has accelerated Washington and Beijing’s cold war. You’ll see, firsthand, how the world is moving away from an open-market trading system of the past 70 years, and reverting to a fragmented, murky form of neo-mercantilism. This is a paradigm shift driven by the rise of China Inc. The author presents high profile cases involving Huawei and other companies to demonstrate how techno-nationalism will disrupt not only global value chains for deep technologies such as semiconductors, AI and robotics, but also for data management and digital platforms. This will have a pervasive effect on everything from the automotive to the pharmaceutical industries. From a trade perspective, you’ll learn how the global system is fracturing and coalescing into different blocs, each tethered to unique standards and values regarding the applications of technology. TECHNO-Nationalism  lays out scenarios involving strategic decoupling, reshoring and ring-fencing of industries. All of this compels multinational businesses and policy makers to reorient efforts around corporate governance and diplomacy. As a primer, the author takes you on a tour-de-force of the origins of Techno-nationalism and shows how it has profoundly shaped today’s modern world. He then puts this in the context of China’s rise as a technology superpower and examines, among other things, the rapid expansion of Beijing’s techno-authoritarian model around the world. These developments have sparked countermeasures from the world’s liberalized markets and democracies, but also present a conundrum for companies that rely on China, both as a market and as vital link in their value chains. From a geopolitical perspective, the author's flowing narrative serves up a trove of insights on China’s digital belt and road and other initiatives, including a growing US-EU Trans-Atlantic technology alliance. It shines a spotlight on the future of the “Five Eyes Alliance” and how other key countries such as India, Taiwan, Japan – and outlier states such as Singapore and Israel – could play a role in a shifting technology landscape. You’ll see how this situation has morphed into a hazardous landscape of 21st-century hybrid warfare and how it’s galvanizing security alliances, public-private partnerships and rule frameworks.  Regarding a US-China innovation race, the author argues that Washington and its allies are on the verge of a new technology “moonshot” similar to the historic space race between the former Soviet Union and America.   TECHNO-Nationalism keeps you connected to the latest technology developments by focusing on two core areas. First, Capri provides an in-depth analysis of the semiconductor industry, which represents the ground zero of the Sino-US technology cold war and is linked to all other aspects of the technology race. Read about China’s attempts to overcome its reliance on a dominant US semiconductor sector – by any means necessary. Second, TECHNO-Nationalism addresses data as a strategic asset. Capri examines how opposing values regarding privacy, censorship and surveillance are splintering the World Wide Web and fragmenting the platform economy as countries block access to apps and data. These developments are impacting areas such as Fintech and banking, not just traditional supply chains. Enjoy an enlightening, well researched and presented snapshot of today’s geopolitical situation and a fascinating account of current affairs. Business leaders, financial industry professionals, governments, NGOs, academics, journalists and anyone with an eye toward the future of technology and international relations will appreciate this essential frame of reference on techno-nationalism.

Genres: Nonfiction

544 pages, Hardcover

Published September 23, 2024

Reviews

[Bkallday · Rating 1 out of 5]

Did not finish. The subject matter isn't wrong, but the writing was riddled with typographical and editing errors that really distracted from reading it.

[Michel Van Roozendaal · Rating 5 out of 5]

An impressive read covering many different technological areas. The title covers the topic well, and the book is intelligent and well written. It contains many interesting anecdotes (e.g. about the rotor of the helicopter that was left behind in the Bin Laden raid), and is rooted in earlier examples of "Techno-Nationalism; e.g the VOC (Dutch East Indies Company).

“Technonationalism” is nicely timed; with the advent of AI, an increasing techno powerplay of China and the US entering a new phase with Trump II. For people in the Anglo-Saxon West it shows that the world of free markets, with passive governments is over, or perhaps that was just an illusion anyway.... The book is (also physically) big (500+ pages) and covers a lot of ground, and I would not be surprised if it establishes itself as a reference point, providing a framework on how to look at current and future developments of "Techno-Nationalism".