Digitisation and Sovereignty in Humanitarian Space: Technologies, Territories and Tensions

Area of Science:

• Digital Governance
• Humanitarian Studies
• International Relations

Background:

• Ongoing debates exist regarding national sovereignty in the digital era, focusing on the internet, AI, and data analytics.
• A critical, under-examined area is the impact of digital innovations on authority, power, and control within the humanitarian sphere.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore conceptually and empirically how digitization and datafication in humanitarian aid are reshaping notions of sovereign power.
• To challenge established understandings of sovereignty in the context of digital humanitarian action.

Main Methods:

• Brings together practitioners and scholars to discuss digital humanitarian action.
• Examines cyber dependencies and the potential of technologies like blockchain.
• Analyzes digital technologies in migration contexts as 'sovereignty experiments'.

Main Results:

• Digitalization and datafication challenge traditional understandings of sovereignty in humanitarian space.
• Cyber dependencies threaten the digital sovereignty of international humanitarian organizations.
• Technologies like blockchain may revolutionize sovereignty in humanitarian assistance, but also present parasitic qualities.

Conclusions:

• Digital technologies in humanitarian aid are actively (re)shaping sovereign power.
• New forms of digital humanitarian action necessitate a re-evaluation of sovereignty.
• Digital technologies in migration contexts can be viewed as 'sovereignty experiments'.