This report was authored by Robert Atkinson from the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation and published in January 2021. This paper presents a stark view of world competition in information technology: “Today’s era is one of nationalization, mercantilism, increased authoritarianism, and tension.” The U.S. needs to focus on developing hardware and networks to support communications necessary for the digital economy. Moreover, the U.S. faces a risk where much of the world, including the EU, could align against U.S. IT and digital interests, leading to a many-against-one environment, with detrimental consequences. Various scenarios are proposed for how the U.S. might ally with countries outside of China and Russia or might be thwarted by these allies.
Key words: digital market, digital policy