Scientific Approaches to Studying the Role of Modern Technologies in International Relations

Abstract

Over the past decade, several technological “quantum leaps” have simultaneously reshaped both international politics and the scholarly interpretation thereof. Contemporary debates concerning the incorporation of technology into the analysis of international relations point to three interrelated major trends. The first trend challenges the prevailing technological determinism and the practice of treating technology as a discrete variable that remains “outside” the core discussion. The second trend reflects a heightened emphasis on theoretical constructs derived from the sociology of technology and science. The third trend involves a methodological shift toward qualitative, empirically grounded field research.

This article proposes examining the societal challenges posed by artificial intelligence from the perspective of long-term sociotechnical transformation, in order to hypothesize which changes might ensue from society’s “use” of these technologies. In contrast to most current social science debates focusing on near-term effects and risks, our approach centers on the normalization processes of artificial intelligence over a longer horizon. Much like the gradual integration of mechanical time measurement into everyday life, this normalization unfolds as a (often contested) interplay between technological capabilities and the social consequences anticipated to arise from them. The subsequent analysis concentrates on the realm of social self-organization, namely democratic practices.