Research

“Crossed Wires: Power Positioning in Global Communications Networks” (working paper)

Geopolitical concerns about competition between China and the United States in the global development of communications infrastructure are rooted in the crucial consequences that global economic networks have for where state power is located and how it is exercised. Yet, existing theory provides few guideposts as to how states position for power in networks, including the role of infrastructuring activity. The theory presented in this paper – the theory of power positioning – helps to address this gap in the study of networked coercion. I argue that assessments of state power should clearly distinguish between a state’s capacity to leverage interdependent relations to coerce others (“extraction capacity”) and the capacity to change the technical infrastructures which make coercive interactions possible (“transformation capacity”). A novel research design and the use of original data on all undersea cable systems developed between 1865 and 2019 illustrate the explanatory value of this framework. This has important implications for assessing whether China is or will soon be able to match the United States’ power position.