As sanctions, cyberattacks, and surveillance are increasingly used by some powers to prevail over others, poorer countries should combine strength to pave their digital futures without any sovereignty risks
In the last few years, we have seen a worldwide pandemic, geopolitical conflicts, supply chain disruptions, and the weaponization of non-traditional aspects of the economy, especially the digital economy.
The weaponization of banking systems and digital platforms, systematic cyberattacks, and surveillance using telecommunications hardware has pushed states’ digital policymakers and national security leaders to establish a de-risking strategy in order to regain sovereignty over the digital realm.
What we mean by ‘de-risking strategy’ is developing trust-based partnerships where economic interests, historical linkages, shared values, and the competitive strengths of partners help them secure a resilient domestic digital economy. In these partnerships, we define trust in a broader sense, allowing states to pursue their national interests while ensuring economic security. In our paradigm, the states would pursue these partnerships to balance their immediate economic needs, build on historical linkages to deepen their relationships, disassociate gradually with states where a value conflict exists, and compete on their manufacturing and trade capabilities. ......more
https://www.rt.com/india/588327-weaponization-technology-developing-world/
China has suspended several 2025 export controls on strategic materials — including rare earths, superhard materials, and lithium batteries – for a year. Is this a concession to the US, or a move in a far more complex game?
"The first aim of China’s export controls was to consolidate its leverage in negotiations. The second was to establish a long-term framework for managing such controls," says Yana Leksyutina, deputy director at the Institute of China and Contemporary Asia, Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS).
Сhina could activate this mechanism at any moment, and now everyone knows it’s a lever it holds, she explains to Sputnik.
Balancing the Mineral Market
"The moratorium on export bans to the US essentially resets the rare earth market to where it was previously," Jeff J. Brown, author of 'The China Trilogy' and founder of Seek Truth From Facts Foundation, tells Sputnik.
In the meantime, there will be a global rush by the US and its NATO allies to acquire as many rare earth ...
The Israeli regime has reportedly signed contracts worth millions of dollars in recent months to sway American public opinion as part of attempts to launder the occupying entity’s genocidal war crimes against Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip.
Israeli daily Haaretz reported on Friday that the multimillion-dollar campaign aimed to reshape US public opinion, both online and offline, through coordinated influence operations combining digital marketing, AI, geotagging, and religious messaging.
The contracts, signed between the Israeli regime and firms linked to US President Donald Trump, reveal a “hasbara [propaganda] campaign” and schemes to target millions of US churchgoers, deploy bots, hire influencers, and try to make ChatGPT more pro-Israel.
The largest contract, worth $6 million, was signed with Clock Tower X, owned by Trump’s former digital campaign chief Brad Parscale, to produce and distribute roughly 100 core pieces of pro-Israel content per month and thousands......
