Reignite Multilateralism via Technology

ongoing

The REMIT project aims to Reignite Multilateralism via Technology. Multilateralism is under attack and the EU is caught between the U.S. and China. While there are many ways that the decline in multilateralism affects the EU, none is more troublesome than rivalries in technology. Firstly, because of the sector’s impact on economic competitiveness and the size within economies that tech occupies. Secondly, tech is important to national security and future threats, including threats to democratic principles. Thirdly, technology is crucial to the solutions for global challenges. REMIT will create knowledge that generates policy recommendations and strategies that support the EU in reconceptualizing multilateral governance in four crucial policy areas: digital, biotechnology, security and defense, and financial technologies. REMIT researchers create this knowledge by employing the Advocacy Coalition Framework (ACF) to specific subsystems. The policy subsystem is the ACF’s unit of analysis. It is characterized by three components: the policy problem or issue; the scope of actors seeking to influence that policy; and a territorial domain or authority for policymaking. REMIT experts focus on subsystems that emerge from their expertise, analyzing the tensions and debates within each as well as defining the EU’s current role. Knowing the status quo makes the next step possible—to extrapolate ideas and to suggest pathways forward. In innovative scenario testing workshops with EU officials, important regional groupings (e.g., Mercosur, ASEAN, and African Union) and national officials, REMIT will develop policy recommendations that will give a remit to reignite multilateralism via technology. A reigniting that not only reacts to China’s rise as a systemic technology rival or Russia’s rise as a technology abuser or the dominance of large U.S.-based digital platforms, but that sets a clear vision for the future—one in which Europe plays a leading role.