Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Disinformation and influence campaigns from domestic and international actors have thrived during the pandemic. European policies that build public trust in democratic institutions should be accompanied by regulation of online platforms that focuses on transparency and accountability.
India’s central bank is considering launching a digital currency. Yet a key question that needs to be addressed first is: would Indian consumers even choose to use it?
The geopolitical pressures of Brexit, an unstable transatlantic partnership, dwindling member states’ defense budgets, and global competition in high technology areas have prompted European institutions to consolidate the union’s cooperation on defense industry and technology.
In Europe, security and defense cooperation have long been the realm of member states and other security organizations like NATO. But recent efforts at the EU level have begun to create a European defense sector—which presents unique challenges and opportunities.
Technological innovation has become a critical element of international cooperation and geopolitical rivalry. This has impacted key areas of the transatlantic partnership, presenting both opportunities and challenges for EU–US relations, either rejuvenating a relationship mired in rifts or deepening those rifts.
A global rethink of supply chains means that some economies will have opportunities to attract investment, build out new industries, and diversify their growth drivers. Taiwan is positioned to benefit from these shifts, but requires policy changes and technology investments to fully take advantage.
A new coalition in Germany has ambitious plans to modernize a country that slipped into complacency and risk aversion. Its newfound energy could give the EU a much-needed impulse.
States’ diplomatic engagements regarding information and communications technologies and cyberspace will continue to be driven by calculations of national interest. Yet the very nature of the technologies and our collective growing dependency on them requires states to look beyond national interests.
A global network of similarly-structured CBDCs could ultimately facilitate lower-cost payments relative to U.S.-regulated channels, thus diminishing the power of U.S. sanctions and curbing dollar usage in cross-border trade.
Discourse on social media increasingly affects personal financial decisions. This may improve market efficiency, yet it may also provide malicious actors with opportunities for disinformation and disruption. Financial authorities, governments, and other stakeholders must work together to counter this threat.