Global Politics in the Era of Disruptive Technologies. New Scenarios in an Old World?

The annual Conference of the Italian Standing Group on International Relations is a three-day session that brings together scholars, researchers and PhD students from Italian academia to discuss issues related to global politics, European Studies, foreign policy, regional dynamics and international theory. The 2019 Conference will be held for the seventh time in Trento. The event is sponsored by the School of International Studies of the University of Trento and co-organized by IP Lab.

This year’s topic is about the impact of technology on international politics.

Global politics is undergoing a radical transformation. Technological advancements are gaining a prominent role in international affairs. Indeed, machine-learning algorithms, earth observations satellites, unmanned aerial vehicles and cyber-weapons play a crucial role in the enactment of security and warfare. At the same time, the resurfacing of old international rivalries, the cracks of traditional alignments and the rise of emerging powers are changing the international system of the XXI Century, if not the approach and theoretical tools IR scholars use to understand it. While power politics changes, non-traditional threats are also on the rise: seemingly never-ending conflicts in Africa and the Middle East, global migrations, environmental issues and the threat of transnational terrorism are unavoidable elements that every possible future scenario must take into consideration. The increasingly close relationship between social and technological knowledge should push scholars towards a deeper integration of different fields of study, including psychology, sociology, economics and engineering. If the pervasive use of technology requires a better understanding of global political dynamics, geopolitical transformations render the task of understanding the interactions between political and social change and technological progress ever more pressing for International Relations.

The annual SGRI Conference is an opportunity for scholars throughout Italy to come together and discuss topics that are relevant to international relations.