This project examines digital sovereignty and border dynamics in global governance. We will establish a Digital Sovereignty Observatory (DSO) informed by applied research and the experiences of people affected by migration systems.
Following political funding shifts, questions of data governance and digital sovereignty have become crucial for institutional resilience amid resource constraints and migration control pressures. We seek to advance understandings of digital sovereignty, supporting effective and equitable policy approaches across its multiple dimensions: individual, organisational, state, and global. We will analyse how evolving data rights, private infrastructure control, national regulatory frameworks, and international standards collectively redefine authority, inclusion, and mobility in the digital age.
Our international research will examine how emerging technologies are reshaping border dynamics, creating new social and political boundaries while reinforcing or challenging existing ones. We aim to ensure that key stakeholders have access to insights that are both research-informed and responsive to urgent challenges. These stakeholders include migration and humanitarian actors; governmental authorities such as national immigration services and EU bodies; technology practitioners; donor organisations, standards bodies, and civil society organisations. In the long term, we aim to influence policy debates around aid localisation, tech dependencies, public-private partnerships; durable solutions for refugees and host communities; the implementation of the UN’s Global Compact on Refugees and Global Digital Compact; and the implications of DPI for vulnerable populations. Our ultimate goal is to support the design of cutting-edge governance systems where digital sovereignty enhances human dignity and rights protections, particularly for those navigating migration systems.
Timeline: September 2025 - August 2027.
Visit the new "Digital Sovereignty Observatory" website
Funding organisation:
This project is generously funded by the Robert Bosch Stiftung.
