Digital Sovereignty in Comparative Perspective | PRIN Research Retreat

On March 13-14, 2025, the Joint Research Retreat between the University of Salerno and the University of Padova took place at the University of Padova, in the Political Science building (Palazzo Wollenburg). The event was part of the “Digital Sovereignty in Comparative Perspective: State Authority, Corporate Power and Fundamental Rights in Cyberspace” PRIN project.

This retreat provided an opportunity for the PRIN research team to exchange ideas, assess preliminary findings, and explore future perspectives on digital sovereignty.

Discussions covered a broad range of topics, including digital sovereignty in media, microprocessor value chain, North Africa, AI governance, and geopolitical challenges. A key focus was on the analytical framework for digital sovereignty, with researchers presenting their initial findings and engaging in an open debate on theoretical and methodological aspects. Another significant aspect of the retreat was a session dedicated to Indigenous Data Sovereignty, as well as a comparative analysis of digital sovereignty strategies in the EU and India.

The event also featured a session on digital sovereignty discourses through topic modeling, where participants analyzed clustering results and discussed their potential for a collective publication. Additionally, a hybrid session titled “Rethinking Sovereignty and/in the Digital: Relationalities in Practice” brought together international scholars to explore sovereignty from a rights-based and geopolitical perspective.

A final project meeting outlined the next steps, future publications, and conference participation.