Technology and Power in World Politics

This subject will study the role of technology in world politics as a site of political struggle and contestation. It will examine traditional theoretical approaches to understanding technology in International Relations and will introduce students to the range of cutting-edge new theoretical perspectives in the field which stress the inherently political nature of technological objects and infrastructures. It will outline how these theoretical approaches can be used to analysis a diverse range of technopolitical issue across the international system, including the Revolution in Military Affairs, Cybersecurity and Internet governance, the politics of shipping containers and transnational production, and emerging debates around geoengineering and climate change, among other topics.