Thematic working group economic and technological transformations

The horizontal topic examines the sweeping changes brought about by disruptive economic and technological transformations, as well as associated constraints and opportunities for German and European policy-making.

Economic and technological change are well-known phenomena. What is new, however, is the breadth, diversity and disruptiveness of related transformations currently taking place: global shifts in economic activity, geopoliticisation of foreign trade, the changing nature of globalisation, the decarbonisation of the economy, and rapid advances in digital technologies. These transformations confront German and European foreign and security policy with new and complex challenges.

Against this background, the horizontal topic inquires through multi-perspective and cross-sectoral analyses how the conditions of a profoundly changing world economy that is shaped by rising great power rivalry and the breakneck race for technological progress – commonly referred to as “geoeconomics”.

Risks resulting from asymmetric dependencies are increasingly taking centre stage in political, business and academic discussions. This poses a fundamental challenge for the hitherto powerful liberal paradigm, according to which mutual economic interdependencies based on the efficient use of resources would promote peace.

Main analytical foci include, but are not limited to, economic security, including migration and secure supply chains, the role of digital technologies and cyber for security orders, as well as the defensive and offensive use of instruments available to state actors in fields as diverse as trade and investment, technology, currency, energy, climate, and health.

The overarching research objective is to better understand the transformative developments, to identify linkages between individual processes, as well as to specify the practical relevance for policy-making, and to outline possible solutions.