“Digital Geopolitics” in the Regional Context: Challenges and Prospects of the European Union on its Way towards Information Sovereignty

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic and the coronacrisis have clearly exposed the strong dependence of modern companies on data governance, the stability of information networks and digitalisation and significantly strengthened the Europeans' belief in the need to achieve strategic autonomy in the development of their own digital solutions. The article aims to define the place of the European Union in the international information and communication space in the context of global data governance policy. The methodology is based on the principles of the multi-paradigm method used for extrapolating some provisions of Robert Gilpin’s hegemonic stability theory on the modern technological competition among the countries on the international arena through a regional approach. The article considers the term “information sovereignty” based on the principles of international law within a constantly changing international environment. The research addresses such documents as “A New Industrial Strategy for Europe”, “A European Strategy for Data”, and the decision of the European Court of Justice concerning the transatlantic Privacy Shield agreement. As an example of the European digital policy, it examines the ambitious GAIA-X project designed to create an open digital ecosystem and common requirements for a European data infrastructure. The article formulates the recommendations in order to ensure effective governance in the digital sector and proposes a multi-stakeholder model, which would help achieve information sovereignty based on European values and ideals.