Digital geopolitics in a VUCA world: China encounters a new global order

Abstract

This article examines the evolving landscape of digital geopolitics, with a focus on the intensifying technological rivalry between the United States and China. It discusses how digital transformation is reshaping global power structures, influenced by and contributing to the bifurcation of the world through strategic initiatives and differing digital ecosystems. The article distinguishes digital geopolitics from conventional geopolitics and techno-nationalism on several fronts: the shift from hard power centred on territorial control to digital dominance; the transcendence of geographical boundaries that have conventionally defined geopolitical conflicts; the evolution from traditional political alliances to strategic technological partnerships; and the competition over setting international standards. Additionally, it addresses how corporate power plays a pivotal role in this new era, contributing to the shaping of the digital geopolitical landscape. Through case studies of Huawei and TikTok, this article demonstrates the influence of digital geopolitics on international business (and vice versa) as well as the intensified bifurcation of the digital ecosystems. The article concludes by arguing that digital geopolitics serves as both the by-product of and contributor to the volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA) world in which China is encountering a new global order.