REMIT researchers Flavia Lucenti and Thomas Christiansen (both Luiss Guido Carli University) took the project to South Korea, as they took part of the IPSA World Congress in Seoul. Flavia put together a small reflection on the panel she co-convened and Thomas was the discussant of, so learn of their trip below!
As part of my ongoing work on the EU Horizon project REMIT, my recent visiting stay in Seoul, South Korea, proved to be a pivotal moment in advancing both the research content and the international visibility of the project and my research findings in different ways.
I had the opportunity to co-convene the panel “Navigating the Impact of Strategic Technology in International Relations” at the IPSA World Congress. This panel provided a timely and intellectually rich space to examine how emerging technologies are reshaping geopolitical dynamics, governance frameworks, and democratic norms globally.
As part of the panel, I presented a co-authored paper with Giulia Tercovich, titled: “Bridging Regions, Aligning Values: AI Governance and Democratic Innovation in Europe and East Asia.” This paper, still in a preliminary stage, explores how Europe and East Asia, in particular, South Korea and Taiwan, are navigating the governance of artificial intelligence (AI), focusing on the intersections of democratic innovation, strategic autonomy, and value alignment. The paper directly aligns with REMIT’s broader objectives, particularly in understanding the external dimension of EU digital governance and its comparative global context. The panel’s details:
NAVIGATING THE IMPACT OF STRATEGIC TECHNOLOGY IN IR
Convenors: Giulia Tercovich, Flavia Lucenti
Chairs: Giulia Tercovich
Discussant: Thomas Christiansen
Panel’s abstract: This panel brings together papers that critically explore the role of different actors in driving the development and regulation of emerging technologies. The proposed papers aim to identify the key factors shaping technological progress and the main actors involved in this process in different regions of the world, with a particular focus on the EU, East and Central Asian countries and Russia. Through a comprehensive analysis, the panel seeks to map the development, application and regulation of key technologies – including artificial intelligence (AI), panopticon surveillance, cybersecurity and nuclear arms control, and human genome editing technologies. As well as addressing the empirical aspects of these technologies, the papers draw on a wide range of theoretical perspectives from International Relations (IR) theory, ranging from realism, liberalism and constructivism, in particular the strand of literature focusing on norm diffusion and norm contestation, but also critical approaches such as race and gender theories. The panel also emphasises inclusivity and diversity by including scholars at different stages of their careers and by including different perspectives based on gender, identity, institutional background and nationality. By bringing together a wide range of voices, the aim is to foster a dynamic exchange of ideas that will not only advance dialogue within the field but also lay the groundwork for new research agendas and collaborative initiatives. Ultimately, the panel seeks to inspire a deeper understanding of the technological landscape and its implications for global governance, while outlining future directions for scholarly inquiry and policymaking.
Paper 1: Bridging Regions, Aligning Values: AI Governance and Democratic Innovation in Europe and East Asia
Authors: Giulia Tercovich (VUB), Flavia Lucenti (LUISS)
Abstract: This paper examines the normative efforts of the European Union, the Republic of Korea (ROK) and Taiwan in the regulation of AI technologies for civilian purposes. Each of these countries is in the process of developing their approach to AI governance reflecting broader societal values and interests. By juxtaposing Taiwan’s and Korea’s models of democratic innovation with the EU’s human rights-driven framework, we explore how the identity of these actors but also their cross regional horizontal ties shape AI governance. Coherently with its identity and values, in the case of the EU, the emerging AI governance has been guided by its long-standing emphasis on human dignity, civil rights, protection of privacy, and transparency, incorporated in the 2024 EU AI Act. The EU seeks to establish norms to ensure that AI technologies are safe, transparent. Meanwhile, as democracies in a region often characterised by competing views of AI governance models, Korea and Taiwan have taken on a role as leaders in democratic innovation. This means that their focus is on fostering innovation ecosystems that support public participation and reflect democratic values. However, they remain commercially competitive and responsive to technological advances. This comparison of different normative models provides opportunities to also explore the impact of their relations at the international level. Furthermore, it paves the way for assessing potential collaboration in developing multilateral frameworks that address the ethical implications of AI while also being conducive to innovation.
Keywords: Technology, China, Taiwan, Republic of Korea, Global Technology Governance
Paper 2. Navigating the Fog of War: Lessons Learned from Russo-Ukrainian War for AI Development and Tech Governance
Author: Ivan Zaccagnini, VUB
Keywords: EU, Artificial Intelligence, Modern Warfare, Tech Governance, Regulation
Paper 3: A Relational Framework for Economic Statecraft: Assessing China’s Status-Seeking through the Digital Silk Road’s Investments
Author: Rebecca Perla Maria Iotti, LUISS
Key words: Economic Statecraft, Digital Silk Road (DSR), Status-Seeking, Relational Theory, International Relations
Paper 4. Nuclear agreement verification Centrality of verification in nuclear agreement negotiations
Author: Giacomo Cassano, Upsala University
Paper 5. Smart City Battleground: Competing Visions for Central Asia’s Digital Future
Author: Jasmin Dall’Agnola, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology’s Department of Humanities, Social and Political Science (D-GESS)
Keywords: Smart City, Digitalization, Central Asia, China, Russia, EU