5. Techplomacy and Digital Geopolitics according to Brad Smith

1. The article analyzes the evolution of the role of technology corporations, which are becoming full-fledged geopolitical actors. The author introduces the concepts of functional infrastructural power and 'structural power,' indicating that control over code and the cloud (code is law) gives companies real influence over the functioning of states, even without formal sovereignty. This phenomenon leads to the emergence of so-called nodal power, where technical dependencies determine the political possibilities of governments. An example of state responses to these changes is Denmark, which was the first to appoint a technology ambassador to conduct direct dialogue with Silicon Valley giants and manage the new dynamics of relations between the public and private sectors in the digital space.