Csaba Moldicz - China, the USA and Technological Supremacy in Europe

This is a great, exciting and timely book. Professor Csaba Moldicz gives a wide and substantiated panorama of todays global geopolitical and geoeconomic competition between USA and China in which technological supremacy is the goal and one of the pivotal strategic battlefields is the EU. Rightly leaving aside purely engineering dimensions he concentrates on systemic issues of geopolitics and geoeconomics in the context of technological competition. The picture he draws is critical but realistic. The EU appears as a politically and culturally divided economic giant facing the imperative of multi-layered balancing internal and external, economic and technological, political and axiological, trying to meet the ends of prosperity and security. Moldiczs perspective on the place and role of Visegrad countries is penetrative and valuable. Simply a must read for the scholars and students of IR and Global political economy.

Reading about technological race from a political economy perspective is an exciting adventure. Writing about it is a very challenging undertaking because of the complexity of technological development itself and the dynamically changing web of interests of international actors. This is especially true when it comes to Chinas technological rise and global competition. Professor Moldicz is undoubtedly able to tie the knot between technologies, economic implications in a geopolitical context. Moreover, his approach is impeccable, logical and easy to understand a much appreciated quality when writing about complicated topics. Not only does the author provide a theoretical framework for the topic, but he has also been able to confidently select the most relevant case studies. Economic history is replete with evidence of the importance of technological dominance leading to global economic power. This book is an excellent attempt to capture the underlying issues of the tectonic shift in the global technological race. It also explains with wonderful insight how China has been able to use all its intellectual and economic power to advance at tremendous speed, even though its global leadership is questionable, at least for the moment. A must-read for anyone trying to understand not just the surface, but the real driving forces behind todays technological interdependence between Europe, China and the US.

This book explores how technological competition is linked to the geopolitical contest between the United States and China, and why Europe and the European Union (EU) have become involved in this competition for technological supremacy.

Chinas political and economic rise, the concurrent US withdrawal from the region, and the rise of new technologies such as 5G and AI create a new and more unstable geopolitical environment in the region. In addition, the EU, far from being a global player, finds it increasingly difficult to play a leading role. This book analyzes the nature of the ultimate goal of technological competition between the United States and China and shows how and why did the EU become the center of this struggle. The author argues that the EU has become the new battlefield of the technological struggle since wealthy societies in the EU make this competition attractive and profitable to both the US and China.

By shedding light on the geopolitical motivations of China and the question of whether the US can contain Chinas advance in this domain, the book will be of interest to practitioners in the fields of international relations and political science as well as policymakers and analysts employed by diplomatic services, multilateral organizations, and nongovernmental organizations.

Csaba Moldicz, PhD, is an associate professor at the Department of International Relations, Faculty of International Business and Management, Budapest Business School, Hungary.

This series seeks to provide thoughtful consideration both of the growing prominence of Asian actors on the global stage and the changes in the study and practice of world affairs that they provoke. It intends to offer a comprehensive parallel assessment of the full spectrum of Asian states, organisations, and regions and their impact on the dynamics of global politics.

The series seeks to encourage conversation on:

Such comprehensive engagement not only aims to offer a critical assessment of the actual and prospective roles of Asian actors, but also seeks to rethink the concepts, practices, and frameworks of analysis of world politics.

This series invites proposals for interdisciplinary research monographs undertaking comparative studies of Asian actors and their impact on the current patterns and likely future trajectories of international relations. Furthermore, it offers a platform for pioneering explorations of the ongoing transformations in global politics as a result of Asias increasing centrality to the patterns and practices of world affairs.

Rethinking Cooperation and Contradictions in the Era of Changing World Order

For more information about this series, please visit: https://www.routledge.com/Rethinking-Asia-and-International-Relations/book-series/ASHSER1384

First published 2022

by Routledge

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2022 Csaba Moldicz

The right of Csaba Moldicz to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

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A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Names: Moldicz, Csaba, author.

Title: China, the United States and the technological supremacy in Europe / Csaba Moldicz.

Description: Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY : Routledge, [2022] |