ZusammenfassungObwohl die Konkurrenz um Künstliche Intelligenz kein klassischer Rüstungswettlauf ist, hält sich das Narrativ einesAI Arms Racein der internationalen Debatte und ein KI-Wettbewerb ist klar erkennbar. Der Essay beleuchtet die Entstehung des Narrativs und rekonstruiert den KI-Wettlauf sowie die strategischen Ausrichtungen der USA, Chinas und der EU.
AbstractThe emergence of new global governors and the ensuing complexity marks one of the most noticeable characteristics of contemporary global politics. However, this core axiom of global governance has not been unpacked in terms of why and how new actors emerge. This is surprising, since the emergence of new global governors raises fundamental questions about the very architecture of global governance. To unpack the dynamics of agency emergence, the article proposes a conceptual framework eclectically derived from relationalism. The framework defines foundational terms and allows us to posit assumptions on self-agentification, recognition, and delegation. We illustrate the framework and its mechanisms by reconstructing the emergence and evolution of corporate agency within the United Nations (UN) from initial debates in the 1960s to the UN Global Compact and conclude that this is mostly a story of contested recognition rather than self-agentification, with the international community and, in particular, states of the global north, inviting business to become more active.
AbstractDigital sovereignty has become a prominent concept in European digital policy, and Germany stands out as its leading advocate in Europe. How digital sovereignty is being understood in German politics is therefore highly relevant for broader policy debates on the European level. This motivates the main objective of the article to map out the different meanings that are attributed to digital sovereignty in German political discourse. Specifically, the article adopts a narrative framework to reconstruct the narratives through which these meanings are constructed. The analysis identifies seven different but overlapping narratives of digital sovereignty in the German discourse that serve to promote partly contradictory political agendas. We argue that this diversity is not a bug, but a feature. Specifically, it supports rich internarrative linkages which benefit the broader resonance of each individual narrative. It also enables a broad set of political actors to enlist digital sovereignty for their specific priorities.
Global Commons sind Gemeingüter in Räumen jenseits nationalstaatlicher Kontrolle: die Ozeane und der Meeresboden, die Atmosphäre, der Weltraum und die Polregionen. Während die Forschung zur Regulierung von Global Commons vor allem deren Effektivität zur nachhaltigen Ressourcennutzung untersucht, ist wenig über ihre Entstehung oder Nicht-Entstehung sowie ihre Dynamiken bekannt. In diesem Aufsatz argumentieren wir, dass die Territorialisierung von Global Commons, also ihre Parzellierung und Aufteilung unter staatliche Kontrolle, heute anders abläuft als in früherer Zeit. Während es lange üblich war, dass durch Territorialisierung souveräne Ansprüche auf Commons-Räume entstanden, vollzog sich Mitte des 20. Jahrhunderts ein Normwandel, so dass Territorialisierung seither fast ausschließlich auf funktionale Kontrollrechte begrenzt wird. Ein Vergleich von 13 Fällen in den fünf Domänen der Global Commons deutet an, dass Prozesse der De- und Reterritorialisierung bestehender Arrangements durch technologischen Wandel und die daraus entstehenden Nutzungskonflikte und sicherheitspolitischen Rivalitäten angestoßen werden.
Fears about the militarization of space are widespread. For example, the recent development of Anti-Satellite (ASAT) capabilities by rising powers like China and India is often described as a technologically driven arms race. This article takes a social constructivist approach to deconstruct the dynamics of this supposed arms race. Using a case study of Mission Shakti, the 2019 Indian ASAT test, the conclusion is that the ASAT arms race is more complex than it seems at first glance. Most importantly, states seem less motivated by security gains but frequently make status-seeking arguments. This offers possibilities for de-securitizing outer space again.
