Technological Sovereignty: Concept and Preconditions in the Transatlantic Context

In uncertain geopolitical times, demand is high for political concepts to grasp the unfolding change and give direction. To Europeans and Germans, the presidency of Donald Trump, the Covid-19 pandemic and the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine have all demonstrated how dependent they are from other states and regions in the world. This is particularly true for technology in sectors such as health, energy, defense and digital. In order to reduce these dependencies,”technological sovereignty“ has become a key concept - some say a buzz word - in the political debate in Europe. In this article, we analyse prominent views of technological sovereignty particularly in Germany, and suggest a definition and three-pronged analysis framework to understand the key political challenges in implementing the concept. In today‘s highly connected world order, there is no sovereignty without a measure of interdependence. For Germany and Europe, this translates into a “transatlantic sovereignty“ in close alignment with the USA as a principal partner.