Focus areas

To fulfil the objectives set by the REMIT project, our research is concentrated under four interlinked research topics, described in further detail below.

This research will enable us to propose new policy avenues that provide a more robust, democratic, and effective global governance through evidence-based research. 

As an essential part of the REMIT project, this focus area has three tasks that are crucial for our success. The first task is all about creating a handbook. This handbook will be developed and delivered in the towards the end of 2023, and it will act as a comprehensive guide for the theoretical and methodological aspects of most of the work. It will be the go-to resource for all consortium partners involved in all of our research. By ensuring theoretical coherence and methodological consistency, the handbook will lay a strong foundation for all of REMIT’s research. We will review and update the handbook in August of 2024 and February of 2026, considering feedback or recommendations from the researchers, and our stakeholders.

The second task of this focus area revolves around developing a Data Management Plan (DMP) for our project. This plan will consolidate our data gathering approaches into a single, well-organized document. The task leader will provide updates on the project’s DMP during the interim and final reviews. As the project progresses, our DMP will evolve, reflecting our ongoing reflections and strategies for data management.

In the third and final task, we will focus on identifying stakeholders in EU countries as well as relevant key states and organizations. To accomplish this, we will leverage our own networks and the networks of our project’s Stakeholder Advisory Board (SAB) members. It is important to note that our contact lists will adhere to privacy and data protection guidelines, including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

By carrying out these three tasks, we aim to establish a solid theoretical and methodological framework, ensure efficient data management, and engage with relevant stakeholders to enhance the impact of our project.

Researchers

Lead Researcher:

  • Roberta Haar, UM

Research Team:

  • Dennis Redeker, UBREMEN
  • Hengyi Yang, UM

Investigating the normative construction of technology governance is crucial to understanding multilateral policies and institutions in the field of technology. This focus area’s dominant questions are: What is the current legal normative constitution of technology governance? What are the current political normative positions held by EU policymakers and stakeholders?

The researchers utilise several empirical and legal-normative methods to answer these questions. The principal guiding framework is the Advocacy Coalition Framework (ACF), which allows researchers to identify advocacy coalitions as well as the preferred technology governance arrangements for each coalition. The research group will conduct regulatory landscape analyses, large-scale global public opinion polls and interviews with EU officials and other stakeholders to study coalition dynamics and the potential for policy change and learning. Our findings will be shared with the public and contribute to recommendations for the EU’s global efforts in achieving effective and inclusive technology governance. 

Researchers

Lead Researcher:

  • Dennis Redeker, UBREMEN

Research Team:

  • Anni Adamson (ECCRI)
  • Jakob Bund, ECCRI
  • Katja Creutz, FIIA
  • Joep Crompvoets, KUL
  • Eoin McNamara, FIIA
  • Ville Sinkkonen, FIIA
  • Max Smeets, ECCRI
  • Paul Timmers, KUL
  • Louis Wierenga, UTARTU
  • Mariëlle Wijermars, UM
  • Katerina Yordanova, KUL

The research on the Geopolitics in Technology Governance delves into the strategic perspectives of the United States, the EU, and China. It focuses on global efforts to establish order in multilateral governance amidst rapid advancements and disruptions caused by technology. It also investigates the differences in the outlooks of these key players in four crucial areas: digital technology, health biotechnology, security and defence technology, and financial technology. We aim to understand how competing worldviews shape technology governance and its implications for the EU. To achieve these objectives, Advocacy Coalition Framework (ACF) will be followed, which allows researchers to identify advocacy coalitions (both national and international) as well as the preferred technology governance arrangements for each coalition. Ultimately, this focus area’s research provides policy recommendations to support the EU in strengthening its regional and global influence.  

Through our comprehensive approach, we aim to shed light on the geopolitical dynamics of technology governance, support the EU in shaping the future of global governance, and engage diverse stakeholders in meaningful discussions and collaborations. 

Researchers

Lead Researcher:

  • Katja Creutz, FIIA

Research team:

  • Thomas Christiansen, LUISS
  • Roberta Haar, UM
  • Mahmoud Javadi, EUR
  • Catherine Lo, UM
  • Flavia Lucenti, LUISS
  • Eoin McNamara, FIIA
  • Valentin Naumescu, UBB
  • Michal Onderco, EUR
  • Oana Poiană, UBB
  • Carolina Polito, LUISS
  • Siyuan (Amber) Qiao, UM
  • Ville Sinkkonen, FIIA
  • Sophie Vanhoonacker, UM
  • Hengyi Yang, UM

Complementing the normative and geopolitical perspectives of REMIT, our research focuses on the economic and social aspects of technology governance.   

In four phases, we will first assess why certain technologies are critical for cooperation, competition, and conflict, and thus become strategic assets. Comparing these strategic digital technologies, research will explore the role of technological sovereignty and tensions between global business and sovereignty interests.  

Next, we will develop an analytic framework to capture the two-way relationship between these characteristics of technology and forms and the actors of multilateralism. These efforts will highlight factors that shape forms of multilateralism actor engagements in multilateral settings, including governance mechanisms, as well as differences in the interpretation of international law, coalitions, and policy learnings.  

The third phase leverages this analytic framework for a set of comparative case studies across salient policy areas in which digital technology and multilateralism meet, including AI and international law; cybersecurity and conflict; 5G and 6G; cloud and platform providers; the national security nexus of ICT supply chains and the Internet of Things; blockchain; and quantum computing.  

Building on these, our researchers will take a forward-looking approach through scenario exercises and provide evidence-based recommendations for policy action to reinforce European institutions and propose innovative, multilateral-governance approaches. 

Researchers

Lead Researcher:

  • Jakob Bund, ECCRI
  • Max Smeets, ECCRI

Research Team:

  • Anni Adamson (ECCRI)
  • Joep Crompvoets, KUL
  • Monica Kaminska, ECCRI
  • Eoin McNamara, FIIA
  • James Shires, ECCRI
  • Evrim Tan, KUL
  • Paul Timmers, KUL
  • Mariëlle Wijermars, UM
  • Katerina Yordanova, KUL