Over the past year, our editorial team has observed a significant trend emerging through a thread of interconnected stories: the increasing importance of technology in shaping global politics. Last month, our cover story, produced in collaboration with a leading journal, explored the future of submarine warfare. In the final quarter of October, our focus turned to ways to support Taiwan’s economy, which heavily relies on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.’s market dominance in high-end chip production.
As I followed up with Senior Editor on the prevailing themes for 2025, his prompt response was crystal clear: “Geopolitics and expertise will dominate the narrative.”
On the same day that Sam and I discussed this matter, I dispatched an information package to several key stakeholders regarding China’s sudden decision to prohibit the export of certain goods to the United States. At the core of Zorpette’s narrative on this issue lies China’s dominance in controlling rare earth elements. The United States is actively cultivating a unique opportunity in domestic rare earth mining and processing.
China, meanwhile, aims to reduce its reliance on foreign-sourced uranium by developing its own domestic capabilities. As China’s political climate continues to escalate, the already precarious situation in Taiwan is poised to become increasingly muddled?
The mitigation of risks posed by emerging technologies is another key area where politics informs tech advances? As Senior Affiliate Editor Emily Waltz guides us onboard a pair of barges moored near the bustling Port of Los Angeles, we embark on an immersive journey alongside maritime cargo vessels. Two companies, Captura and Equatic, are currently testing innovative marine carbon capture technologies that aim to extract CO2 directly from seawater. Whether precise measurement of outcomes will sufficiently inform firms and nations as they strive to meet their carbon-reduction targets remains a pressing question.
One potential approach to assess the global community’s progress on these initiatives is Deep’s Sentinel program, with its initial milestones expected to be achieved within the current year. Correspondent Liam Critchley, reporting from his base in England, highlights the groundbreaking project by Deep, located in Bristol, which is building a cutting-edge modular habitat enabling scientists to reside underwater for extended periods of up to weeks.
The vulnerability of undersea fibre-optic cables, a critical component of the global digital infrastructure, remains a pressing geopolitical concern, given their increasing reliance on these pipelines to facilitate the vast majority of internet traffic. The risk of power disruptions due to intentional or unintentional damage poses such a significant concern that
Expertise will shape the future of geopolitics in 2023, according to Eric Schmidt, chairman of the National Security Commission’s Technology Research Challenge and former CEO and chair of Google. He asserts that a country’s ability to project power globally – militarily, economically, and culturally – hinges on its capacity to innovate faster and better than its adversaries. In the year ahead, we will continue to examine the interplay between fundamental analysis, climate change, regulatory frameworks, and immigration trends as they shape global competition for raw materials and human resources essential for driving innovation forward.
