Speakers
Description
How do small and middle powers preserve autonomy amid great-power competition in critical digital infrastructure? This paper addresses this foundational question in International Relations by examining Southeast Asian states' navigation of US-China rivalry in submarine cable governance. Drawing on semi-structured interviews and comparative case analysis of Singapore, Vietnam, and Indonesia, we develop a typology of small state agency identifying three distinct mechanisms through which secondary states shape infrastructure outcomes: coordinating agency (leveraging technical excellence and network centrality), adaptive agency (strategic diversification amid vulnerability), and gatekeeping agency (imposing strict legal requirements leveraging geographic indispensability). Our analysis reveals that different combinations of institutional capacity, strategic network position, and perceived security vulnerability produce distinct agency types. This research contributes to small state scholarship by demonstrating that secondary states are not merely caught in great-power technological rivalry but actively craft pathways to preserve autonomy and advance national interests—even in domains where material power asymmetries are vast. The findings challenge binary narratives of US-China competition and illuminate the polycentric character of contemporary geopolitics, where regulatory authority, strategic position, and proactive diversification serve as instruments of influence that constrain great powers.
| If you are submitting an Open Panel proposal, have you included all four abstracts in attachment? | No, I am submitting a Closed Panel abstract |
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| Would you like to be considered for travel funding through the NetSec COST Action? | Yes |
| Are you a member of the NetSec Management Committee? | No |
| What discipline or branch of humanities or social sciences do you identify yourself with? | International Relations |
| Which of the following best describes your stage of the career? | Post-Doc (or within 3-year of PhD obtention) |
| In which country is your home institution? | Singapore |
| What is your gender? | Female |