Techno-Nationalism: How It's Reshaping Trade, Geopolitics and Society - Hardcover

by Alex Capri (Author)

The essential book on technology-related competition between nations and its impact on the world

Nations have long sought to use technology as a power-multiplier for their own ambitions. In the twenty-first century, at a time of unprecedented innovation, the United States and China are in a race to achieve technological superiority. But how will this affect long-standing trade ties and the international landscape?

Techno-nationalism holds that a nation's economic strength and its national security -- even its social stability-- are linked to the technological prowess of its institutions and enterprises. From artificial intelligence and biotechnology to semiconductors and quantum science, nations that fall behind in the technology race risk becoming permanent losers, with potentially catastrophic consequences. After decades of trade liberalization and free-flowing investment into China, a paradigm shift amongst a bloc of like-minded, mostly Western countries, has set in motion epic change. Techno-nationalism is reorganizing the global economy.

Alex Capri, who spent decades as a trade and supply chain professional in China and throughout the world, lays out the dynamics of this change and its underlying themes, from the paradox facing U.S.-China commercial linkages to the grey zones in which states and firms must now try to coexist. He provides a realist's perspective of both the challenges and opportunities facing international actors.

Regarding the elements of techno-nationalism, Capri paints a masterful picture of the strategic decoupling of supply chains and the re-shoring of key manufacturing ecosystems such as semiconductors. He provides an illuminating account of the geopolitics of data, and the fragmentation of the digital landscape, as well as the bifurcation of financial markets, academia, and R&D around Chinese and American spheres of influence.

These themes carry through to Capri's fascinating accounts of the modern-day space-race, and space-based Internet, undersea cables, hypersonic warfare, the AI arms race, drones, and robotics. The book's clear explanations of semiconductors and their importance is highly useful.

TECHNO-Nationalism is a must-read for business and government leaders, investors and strategists, academics, journalists, NGOs, or anyone who wants to experience a thoroughly entertaining and educational account of one the most important issues of our time.

Front Jacket

In TECHNO-Nationalism: How it's reshaping trade, geopolitics and society, international business veteran turned academic, Alex Capri, draws upon his decades of experience as a consultant with KPMG and PwC, and his work in America, China, and throughout the world.

TECHNO-Nationalism lays out the reasons why nations are restricting the flow of strategic technologies and how the international system is bifurcating and reorganising itself around American and Chinese spheres of influence.

Capri examines the impact of export controls and sanctions, and the myths and misconceptions regarding strategic decoupling and de-risking from China. Using well-researched examples, he breaks down supply chain 're-shoring' and 'friend-shoring' and provides a clear-minded assessment of the paradigm shift in the West that is behind it all -- the needle has moved away from a neoliberal mindset towards an unvarnished realism. The result is a kind of 'geopolitical creative destruction' with new winners and losers throughout the international landscape, but it is not a zero-sum game.

Capri leaves no stone unturned as he provides colourful analysis across a wide spectrum of power-multiplying technologies, from the AI arms race to the geopolitics of climate change. His knowledge of semiconductors is evident throughout the book, and he identifies the important link-ages between microchips and other twenty-first century foundational technologies.

The book's exploration of techno-diplomacy -- how like-minded nations collaborate to restrict technology transfer and enforce rules and values affecting how technology can be used -- is required reading for policy makers, business and military leaders and anyone else wishing to stay informed on current affairs.

Back Jacket

An essential book on the power-multiplying dynamics of technology and the fate of nations

Picture a world where governments deploy autonomous drones to the oceans' depths to defend undersea fibre optic cable networks -- the backbone of the Internet -- from espionage and sabotage.

In the skies above, government-funded constellations of low earth orbit (LEO) satellites, numbering in the tens of thousands, beam wireless Internet to the world's most remote regions while simultaneously tracking the flight of hypersonic missiles.

Meanwhile, in cyberspace, diplomats and spies unleash artificial intelligence (AI) to engage in narrative wars and influence campaigns, using deepfakes and sophisticated algorithms to affect political and social outcomes.

These are some of the elements of Techno-Nationalism, which holds that a nation's economic strength and its national security -- even its social stability-- is linked to the technological prowess of its leading tech companies, universities and government institutions.

Great power competition between America and China has spawned a fierce innovation race involving the most critical twenty-first century technologies, from advanced materials, AI, and biotech to nano-scale manufacturing and quantum science. At the heart of it all are semiconductors -- the ultimate foundational technology and power-multiplier.

This book is essential reading for anyone who needs to understand the full impact of a technology-oriented cold war, across the international landscape.