Democracy in the Digital Age: Reshaping Geopolitics in the Algorithmic Era

The rapid advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its expanding role in contemporary societies are progressively reconfiguring the political landscape and international relations. In this digital age, public governance and transnational dynamics are reshaping political institutions, raising fundamental questions about democracy and digital sovereignty. As AI and Algorithmic Power are increasingly being embedded in the core infrastructures of governance and public opinion, political authority is gradually reconceptualized with decision-making processes, democratic transparency, and civil rights.

The presentation focuses on three interconnected dimensions. First, it explores key concepts such as algorithmic power and its impact on political processes, analyzing how AI and algorithmic power shape political processes and the relationship between public administration and public opinion, while highlighting the prospects and the limits of automation. Second, it examines digital sovereignty as an emerging political objective referring to national efforts to secure digital autonomy in an evolving global digital ecosystem. Third, it discusses how AI reshapes geopolitics and the field of international relations, considering how global competition, access to technological tools, and developments affect democratic values and dynamics among agents.

Drawing on interdisciplinary literature from IR and political theory, this presentation offers a conceptual analysis, using qualitative research, to identify the relationship between AI and democratic global governance. It argues that algorithmic power and AI should function as a subsidiary tool rather than a Trojan Horse that enables asymmetries, whether on the national or international level. This endeavor requires robust regulatory frameworks, transparent algorithmic systems, and international cooperation that align democratic values and fundamental rights with technological innovations.