How Do We Think About Tech Disruption and World Politics?

ZOOM EVENT: WEDNESDAY, 17 DECEMBER 2025, 15:30 CET

Are we entering a period in which international relations are being reshaped in fundamental ways by developments in technology? From advances in artificial intelligence to the geopolitics of cyber operations, from digital infrastructures to the growing involvement of private technology companies in global security, technological innovation increasingly appears to intersect with the core concerns of International Relations. Yet it remains an open question how far-reaching these transformations truly are—and how they might affect concepts long central to the discipline: sovereignty, influence, private actors, balance of power, offence-defence capabilities, among others. This online discussion aims to provide space for IR scholars to reflect on whether, and in what ways, technological developments are transforming global politics. Are these changes profound enough to challenge established assumptions, or do they simply call for familiar theoretical tools to be applied in new contexts?

Speakers

• Julia Calver, Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Leiden
• Tobias Liebetrau, Associate Professor, University of Copenhagen
• Andrew Liaropoulos, Associate Professor, University of Piraeus
• Rebecca Slayton, Associate Professor, Cornell University