Reignite Multilateralism via Technology

The Finnish Institute of International Affairs (FIIA) is a partner in a research consortium REMIT – Reignite Multilateralism via Technology led by Maastricht University. The four-year project started in March 2023, and is funded by the European Commission’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme (Grant Agreement No. 101094228). REMIT brings together researchers from partner institutions in nine European countries: Belgium, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Romania and the United Kingdom.

The consortium was formed in response to the European Commission’s call for applications on the theme of “Reshaping Democracies” and specifically the topic “Global Governance for a World in Transition: Norms, Institutions, Actors”. Structured through six Work Packages, REMIT will combine research approaches that are scholarly, policy-oriented and accessible to the wider public to examine how multilateralism can be revitalized through technology governance.

In particular, the consortium will focus on analyzing the outlooks of the European Union, United States and China in global technology governance across four primary areas: digital technology, health biotechnology, security and defense technology, and financial technology.

FIIA will lead Work Package 4 titled Geopolitics in Technology Governance, focusing on the strategic thinking of the US, EU, and China. The work package will specifically examine contentious global efforts to order multilateral governance in the midst of advanced yet disruptive technological development.

Work Package 4 is led by Dr. Katja Creutz, Programme Director in the Global Security and Governance research programme at the Institute. FIIA’s research team also includes Research Fellow Eoin McNamara, Specialist Anu Ruokamo and Postdoctoral Fellow Ville Sinkkonen.

External partners contributing to REMIT’s Work Package 4 include Maastricht University, Babeș-Bolyai University, Erasmus University Rotterdam and Libera Università Internazionale degli Studi Sociali Guido Carli

The first REMIT Conference “New Perspectives for Technology and Multilateralism” takes place on 16-17 May, 2024 in Leuven, Belgium. Read more on REMIT’s website.