Sovereignty in the digital realm is still little researched and controversial. Interdisciplinarily, this term is increasingly permeating geopolitical, international law, supranational and national discourse and is evident in various contexts. Resulting from the “Data Sovereignty along the Digital Silk Road” conference held at Georgetown University in the USA and the University of Hong Kong, this book is divided into four sections: Retheorizing Digital Sovereignty, Technology and Economic Institutions, Trade Regulation, and Data Localization.

The global free flow of data and data localization along territorial state borders are conflicting ideas. Across geographies, both state and corporate practices are based on different motives and pursue different objectives. The authority of technology giants to regulate both the Internet and data use, referred to as functional sovereignty, and territorial sovereignty related to state governments are addressed by Frank Pasquale. Dan Svantesson develops a concept of sovereignty based on the notion of state dignity for the online sector. Sovereignty in the digital realm oscillates between private data control and public power. “Sharing Platforms” are analyzed by Shin-Yi Peng. Anne SY Cheung considers the conventional framework for data protection to be inadequate in the modern age and advocates the addition of effective and meaningful data control based on the empowerment of the individual. Anupam Chander and Haochen Sun call for the establishment of checks and balances to regulate digital sovereignty, which is exercised by governments in various restrictive and extensive ways. Andrew Keane Woods focuses the sovereignty problem on artificial intelligence that requires data. Both personal data and industrial data are important for building a digital economy. Concepts for overcoming the financial data problem are developed in chapter 8 by Giuliano G. Castellano, Ēriks K. Selga and Douglas W. Arner. The regulation of data flows and the formation of digital sovereignty are associated with considerable challenges. In the context of international trade agreements, the data sovereignty of the USA, China and the European Union is analysed by Henry Gao, following on from the classic theories of sovereignty of Jean Bodin, Emer de Vattel, and Carl Schmitt. Mira Burri deals with the regulation of data flows in European and US preferential trade agreements. The regulation of data exports and the localization of personal data along Asia’s New Silk Road is examined by Graham Greenleaf. Kyung Sin Park calls for a stable standard for evaluating data localization systems.

The global facets of digital sovereignty are examined in relation to geographically diverse jurisdictions on the basis of numerous classic and current practical examples as well as a comprehensive evaluation of international literature by authors with a predominantly legal but also political science and economic academic competence. The book focuses on the USA, the European Union (Theodore Christakis, chapter 14), and China (Lizhi Liu, Barry R. Weingast, chapter 6). India (Neha Mishra, chapter 10), Brazil, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Singapore are included in the analysis for comparison. The concepts and models developed in the book make a valuable contribution to further research into the emerging concept of digital sovereignty.