The US-Chinese technology rivalry and the Global South: consequences for and responses from Latin America and Asia

Abstract

<p>This paper analyses the increasing rivalry between the US and China on technology (particularly digital technology) and its impact in the Global South. It highlights how jurisdictions in the Global South are affected by the increasingly contested evolution of the digital economy. The paper conducts a thematic and comparative study which concentrates on the effects and consequences of the so-called 'tech war' in Latin America and Asia. This line of inquiry examines the extent to which countries in the Global South can - and have - carved out a degree of autonomy and manoeuvrability in the face of intensifying pressure over the access and usage of technological innovations that power the global digital economy. The paper finds that countries in Latin America and Asia have not only spearheaded important regulatory developments but have also become more effective at learning to use the US-Chinese rivalry for their own ends. The paper contributes to a rapidly growing field of scholarship in IR on global technological competition, but does so from an angle that sheds light on the limitations and opportunities this entails for countries two key growth markets: Latin America and Asia.</p>