AI Nationalism in Shaping Global Governance
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15642/siyar.2025.5.2.186-217Keywords:
AI Nationalism, Global Governance, Geopolitics, Digital Sovereignty, Techno-nationalismAbstract
The rise of AI nationalism is fundamentally reshaping global governance, creating a new geopolitical landscape defined by technological competition. This research investigates how nations are increasingly leveraging artificial intelligence not just as a tool, but as a cornerstone of national power, economic strategy, and identity. Through a qualitative analysis employing a constructivist lens, this study examines the historical narratives, theoretical underpinnings, and policy manifestations of AI nationalism. It utilizes purposive sampling to select case studies of the United States, China, Russia, India, and Indonesia, representing a spectrum of global actors from superpowers to key emerging economies. The findings reveal that AI nationalism is not monolithic, leading to a proposed typology of three distinct models: Geopolitical Supremacy, State-Led Developmentalism, and Pragmatic Sovereignty. The study demonstrates how historical legacies of technological rivalry and colonialism continue to shape contemporary policies, fostering a zero-sum competitive environment that fragments international regulatory frameworks and deepens power asymmetries. It concludes that the current trajectory of AI nationalism, while driving innovation, poses significant risks to global stability and equitable development. This research affirms the urgent need for hybrid, multistakeholder governance models that can reconcile national interests with the necessity for international cooperation, ensuring that AI's transformative potential serves collective global interests rather than entrenching existing hierarchies.Downloads
References
Aaronson, Susan Ariel. ‘The Age of AI Nationalism and Its Effects’. Waterloo, September 2024. https://www.cigionline.org/static/documents/Aaronson.pdf.
Agarwala, Nitin, and Rana Divyank Chaudhary. ‘“Made in China 2025”: Poised for Success?’ India Quarterly 77, no. 3 (1 September 2021): 424–61. https://doi.org/10.1177/09749284211027250.
Arslan, Alp Cenk. ‘AI Nationalism: A Geopolitical Race for Technological Supremacy’, 1 November 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/ai-nationalism-geopolitical-race-technological-supremacy-arslan-k2cyf.
Badan Pengkajian dan Penerapan Teknologi. ‘Strategi Nasional Kecerdasan Artifisial Indonesia 2020 - 2045’. Badan Pengkajian Dan Penerapan Teknologi, 2020. https://korika.id/document/strategi-nasional-kecerdasan-artifisial-indonesia-2020-2045/.
Bella, Sofia Di. ‘The Impact of AI on Historiographical Storytelling and the Risk of a Selective, Eurocentric Narrative’, 25 February 2025. https://www.historica.org/blog/the-impact-of-ai-on-historiographical-storytelling-and-the-risk-of-a-selective-eurocentric-narrative.
Bendett, Samuel, and Martijn Rasser. ‘Transcript from Russian Advances in Military Automation and AI’. Center for a New American Security, 4 June 2020. https://www.cnas.org/publications/transcript/transcript-from-russian-advances-in-military-automation-and-ai.
Bhatia, Ravish. ‘China’s AI Development Plan: A Systemic Analysis of the Design of the State Council of China’s Next Generation Artificial Intelligence Development Plan and Its Implications for India’. New Delhi. Accessed 25 March 2025. https://vinitgoenka.in/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/China_AI_Developement_Plan.pdf.
Bijker, Wiebe E., Thomas P. Hughes, and Trevor Pinch. New Directions in the Sociology and History of Technology. Edited by Deborah G. Douglas, Wiebe E Bijker, Thomas P Hughes, and Trevor Pinch. The MIT Press, 2012. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt5vjrsq.
Borgogno, Oscar, and Alessandra Perrazzelli. ‘From Principles to Practice: The Case for Coordinated International LLMs Supervision’. Cambridge Forum on AI: Law and Governance 1 (20 January 2025): e13. https://doi.org/10.1017/CFL.2024.13.
Capri, Alex. ‘Techno-Nationalism: The US-China Tech Innovation Race’, 2020. https://s3.iois.me/Hinrich-Foundation-Techno-nationalism-and-the-US-China-tech-innovation-race-August-2020.pdf.
Carnegie India. ‘Global Technology Summit 2023 | Day 1 - YouTube’. Nandan Nilekani is the billionaire cofounder of Infosys, the architect of India’s Aadhaar biometric identification platform, and a major figure in Indian IT. His not-for-profit People+ai is at the forefront of pushing for the application of DPIs to AI, 4 December 2023. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJ_XGtWlWVI.
Cave, Stephen, and Seán Ó Héigeartaigh. ‘An AI Race for Strategic Advantage: Rhetoric and Risks’. In AAAI / ACM Conference on Artificial Intelligence, Ethics And Society. SSRN, 2018. https://ssrn.com/abstract=3446708.
Chan, Kyle, Gregory Smith, Jimmy Goodrich, Gerard DiPippo, and Konstantin F. Pilz. ‘China’s Evolving Industrial Policy for AI’. RAND, 2025. https://www.rand.org/pubs/perspectives/PEA4012-1.html.
Cheng, Zhi Bo. ‘The Essential Meaning and Types of Expression of Contemporary Western Techno - Nationalism[当代西方技术民族主义的本质意涵与表现类型]’. Studies in Science of Science 42, no. 3 (15 March 2024): 484–91.
Cihon, Peter, Matthijs M. Maas, and Luke Kemp. ‘Fragmentation and the Future: Investigating Architectures for International AI Governance’. Global Policy 11, no. 5 (1 November 2020): 545–56. https://doi.org/10.1111/1758-5899.12890.
Costa, Carlos J., Manuela Aparicio, Sofia Aparicio, and Joao Tiago Aparicio. ‘The Democratization of Artificial Intelligence: Theoretical Framework’. Applied Sciences (Switzerland) 14, no. 18 (1 September 2024): 8236. https://doi.org/10.3390/app14188236.
Couldry, N., and U.A. Mejias. ‘Data Colonialism: Rethinking Big Data’s Relation to the Contemporary Subject’. Television and New Media 20, no. 4 (2019): 336–49. https://doi.org/10.1177/1527476418796632.
Creative Rights Institute. ‘2024 Blueprint of Global AI Legislative Policy Efforts — A Comprehensive Analysis of Worldwide AI Governance Frameworks — Creative Rights Institute’. Creative Rights Institute, 22 December 2024. https://www.creativerightsinstitute.com/reports/2024aiblueprint.
Creswell, John W., and J. David Creswell. Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches. Research Defign: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed M Ethods Approaches. 5th ed. California: SAGE Publications Ltd., 2018.
Edgerton, David E.H. ‘The Contradictions of Techno-Nationalism and Techno-Globalism: A Historical Perspective’. New Global Studies 1, no. 1 (2007). https://doi.org/10.2202/1940-0004.1013.
Feakin, Tobias. ‘AI Geopolitics Beyond the US-China Rivalry The Role of Global South’. Aspen Digital, 7 March 2025. https://www.aspendigital.org/blog/ai-geopolitics-beyond-the-us-china-rivalry/.
Fong, Brian C. H., and Chong Ja Ian. The Routledge Handbook of Great Power Competition. London: Routledge, 2024. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003340997.
Goldman Sachs. ‘China’s Advances Could Boost AI’s Impact on Global GDP’. Goldman Sachs, 12 February 2025. https://www.goldmansachs.com/insights/articles/chinas-advances-could-boost-ai-impact-on-global-gdp.
Haryanti, Tining, Nur Aini Rakhmawati, and Apol Pribadi Subriadi. ‘Navigating the Digital Transformation Landscape in Indonesia: A Qualitative Sectoral Analysis’. In 2024 IEEE International Symposium on Consumer Technology (ISCT), 805–11. IEEE, 2024. https://doi.org/10.1109/ISCT62336.2024.10791195.
Hogarth, Ian. ‘AI Nationalism ’, 13 June 2018. https://www.ianhogarth.com/blog/2018/6/13/ai-nationalism.
Horowitz, M.C. ‘When Speed Kills: Lethal Autonomous Weapon Systems, Deterrence and Stability’. Journal of Strategic Studies 42, no. 6 (2019): 764–88. https://doi.org/10.1080/01402390.2019.1621174.
Hung, Kai Hsin. ‘Artificial Intelligence as Planetary Assemblages of Coloniality: The New Power Architecture Driving a Tiered Global Data Economy’. Big Data and Society 11, no. 4 (1 October 2024). https://doi.org/10.1177/20539517241289443.
———. ‘Beyond Big Tech Geopolitics Moving towards Local and People-Centred Artificial Intelligence’. tni. SAGE Publications Ltd, 4 February 2025. https://doi.org/10.1177/20539517241289443.
Jelinek, Thorsten, Wendell Wallach, and Danil Kerimi. ‘G20 Coordinating Committee for the Governance of Artificial Intelligence’. Taihe Institute, 20 May 2020. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/342522640.
Johnson, James. ‘Artificial Intelligence: A Threat to Strategic Stability’. The Journal of Strategic Studies, 2021. https://doi.org/10.2307/26891882.
Kak, Amba, and Sarah West. ‘A Modern Industrial Strategy for AI?: Interrogating the US Approach’, 12 March 2024. https://ainowinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/AI-Nationalisms-Chapter-2.pdf.
Konaev, Margarita, and Samuel Bendett. ‘Russian AI-Enabled Combat: Coming to a City Near You?’ War on Rocks, 2019. https://warontherocks.com/2019/07/russian-ai-enabled-combat-coming-to-a-city-near-you/.
Kugler, Mikołaj. ‘The United States of America’s Embrace of Artificial Intelligence for Defense Purposes’. In Advanced Sciences and Technologies for Security Applications, 183–99. Springer, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-88972-2_12.
Larsen, Benjamin Cedric. ‘The Geopolitics of AI and the Rise of Digital Sovereignty’. Brookings. Springer Netherlands, 8 December 2022. https://www.brookings.edu/articles/the-geopolitics-of-ai-and-the-rise-of-digital-sovereignty/.
Lu, Marianne, and Sam Winter-Levy. ‘The Other AI Race: An Export Promotion Strategy for the Global South’. Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 2025. https://carnegieendowment.org/research/2025/07/the-other-ai-race-an-export-promotion-strategy-for-the-global-south?lang=en.
Maas, Matthijs, and José Jaime Villalobos. ‘International AI Institutions A Literature Review of Models, Examples, and Proposals’, September 2023. https://law-ai.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/website-PDF-version-International-AI-institutions_-A-literature-review-of-models-examples-and-proposals.pdf.
Mackereth, Kerry. ‘A New AI Lexicon: AI Nationalism’. AINOW, 19 July 2021. https://ainowinstitute.org/publication/a-new-ai-lexicon-ai-nationalism.
Maria, Indri, and Riswadi Riswadi. ‘Artificial Intelligence Governance Strategy in the Indonesian Regulation System, Offensive or Defensive?’ Sharia Oikonomia Law Journal 2, no. 4 (30 December 2024): 233–43. https://doi.org/10.70177/solj.v2i4.1643.
Marr, Bernard. ‘The Geopolitics Of AI’. Forbes, 18 September 2024. https://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2024/09/18/the-geopolitics-of-ai/.
Maslej, Nestor, Loredana Fattorini, Raymond Perrault, Yolanda Gil, Vanessa Parli, Njenga Kariuki, Emily Capstick, et al. ‘Artificial Intelligence Index Report 2025’. California, 2025. https://hai.stanford.edu/assets/files/hai_ai_index_report_2025.pdf.
Meltzer, Joshua P, and Cameron F. Kerry. ‘Strengthening International Cooperation on Artificial Intelligence’. Brookings, 17 February 2021. https://www.brookings.edu/articles/strengthening-international-cooperation-on-artificial-intelligence/.
Mohanty, Amlan, and Shatakratu Sahu. ‘India’s AI Strategy: Balancing Risk and Opportunity’. Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 2024. https://carnegieendowment.org/posts/2024/02/indias-ai-strategy-balancing-risk-and-opportunity?lang=en.
Nugroho, Feri. ‘Artificial Intelligence Regulation and Political Ethics: An Analysis of Indonesia’s Position in AI Governance’. Journal of Political Innovation and Analysis 2, no. 1 (2 June 2025). https://doi.org/10.59261/jpia.v2i1.10.
Panday, Jyoti, and Mila T Samdub. ‘Promises and Pitfalls of India’s AI Industrial Policy’, 12 March 2024. https://ainowinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/AI-Nationalisms-Chapter-4.pdf.
Pandey, Pankaj. ‘Digital Sovereignty and AI: Developing India’s National AI Stack for Strategic Autonomy’. Procedia Computer Science 254 (2025): 250–59. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procs.2025.02.084.
Pangestu, Ilham Aji, Achmad Thorik, Muhammad Rizqi Fadhlillah, and Nopiana Mozin. ‘The Urgency of Artificial Intelligence Regulation in Supporting the National Defence System’. Jambura Journal Civic Education 4, no. 2 (2024). https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.37905/jacedu.v4i2.27383.
Pavel, Barry, Ivana Ke, Michael Spirtas, James Ryseff, Lea Sabbag, Gregory Smith, Keller Scholl, and Domenique Lumpkin. ‘AI and Geopolitics: How Might AI Affect the Rise and Fall of Nations?’, 2023. https://www.rand.org/pubs/perspectives/PEA3034-1.html.
———. ‘AI and Geopolitics: How Might AI Affect the Rise and Fall of Nations?’ AI and Geopolitics: How Might AI Affect the Rise and Fall of Nations? RAND Corporation, 3 November 2023. https://doi.org/10.7249/PEA3034-1.
Pradhan, Avisheh. ‘AI and the New World Order: Geopolitical Implications’. Defense Research and Studies (DRaS). Royal Society Publishing, 28 November 2018. https://doi.org/10.1098/RSTA.2018.0080.
Ratih Mulia Fazriati, Sinta Dewi Rosadi, and Prita Amalia. ‘The Urgency of Regulating the Transparency Principle of the “AI System” in Indonesia: The Phenomenon of Self-Preferencing and Regulation in the European Union’. Journal of Law, Politic and Humanities 5, no. 3 (20 February 2025): 2061–74. https://doi.org/10.38035/jlph.v5i3.1485.
Roberts, Huw, Josh Cowls, Emmie Hine, Francesca Mazzi, Andreas Tsamados, Mariarosaria Taddeo, and Luciano Floridi. ‘Achieving a “Good AI Society”: Comparing the Aims and Progress of the EU and the US’. Science and Engineering Ethics 27, no. 6 (1 December 2021): 1–25. https://doi.org/10.1007/S11948-021-00340-7/TABLES/2.
Roberts, Huw, Josh Cowls, Jessica Morley, Mariarosaria Taddeo, Vincent Wang, and Luciano Floridi. ‘The Chinese Approach to Artificial Intelligence: An Analysis of Policy and Regulation’. SSRN Electronic Journal, 1 May 2020. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3469783.
Rohayati, Yeti, and Abdillah Abdillah. ‘Digital Transformation for Era Society 5.0 and Resilience: Urgent Issues from Indonesia’. Societies 14, no. 12 (16 December 2024): 266. https://doi.org/10.3390/soc14120266.
Sarma, Anirban, Basu Chandola, Shravishtha Ajaykumar, and Trisha Ray. ‘National Data Governance Framework Policy: Recommendations to the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology’. Observer Research Foundation, 29 June 2022. https://www.orfonline.org/research/national-data-governance-framework-policy#_edn1.
Schulze, Christoph, Andreas Welker, Anne Kühn, Rainer Schwertz, Benjamin Otto, Laura Moraldo, Udo Dentz, et al. ‘Public Health Leadership in a Vuca World Environment: Lessons Learned during the Regional Emergency Rollout of Sars-Cov-2 Vaccinations in Heidelberg, Germany, during the Covid-19 Pandemic’. Vaccines. MDPI, 1 August 2021. https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines9080887.
Smuha, Nathalie. ‘Beyond a Human Rights-Based Approach to AI Governance: Promise, Pitfalls, Plea’. Philosophy & Technology 34 (1 November 2021): 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13347-020-00403-w.
Tung, Rosalie L., Ivo Zander, and Tony Fang. ‘The Tech Cold War, the Multipolarization of the World Economy, and IB Research’. International Business Review 32, no. 6 (December 2023): 102195. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ibusrev.2023.102195.
Vijayakumar, Anupama. ‘Potential Impact of Artificial Intelligence on the Emerging World Order’. F1000Research 11 (1 January 2022): 1186. https://doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.124906.2.
Wadipalapa, Rendy Pahrun, Riris Katharina, Poltak Partogi Nainggolan, Sitti Aminah, Tini Apriani, Diana Ma’rifah, and Azmi Listya Anisah. ‘An Ambitious Artificial Intelligence Policy in a Decentralised Governance System: Evidence From Indonesia’. Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs 43, no. 1 (22 April 2024): 65–93. https://doi.org/10.1177/18681034231226393.
Wijaya, Indra Dharma. ‘Challenges and Opportunities in Digital Technology Adoption for Government in Indonesia’. Jurnal Pallangga Praja (JPP) 6, no. 2 (2024): 137–46. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.61076/jpp.v6i2.5002.
Wurfel, David, and Bruce Burton. The Political Economy of Foreign Policy in Southeast Asia. Edited by David Wurfel and Bruce Burton. London: Palgrave Macmillan UK, 1990. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-20813-5.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 M. Roehman Zainur Riedho
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
