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Digital sovereignty: imperative europe switzerland:
Technology
Digital sovereignty: a strategic imperative in the face of American hegemony – Digital sovereignty: imperative europe switzerland
American hegemony on digital technologies poses a strategic challenge for Europe. In addition, Switzerland. However, Total independence is illusory, but reducing our vulnerability becomes crucial.
Donald Trump did not invent the concept of America First. Similarly, But it was the most visible, the most publicized and the most assumed incarnation. Nevertheless, His visit to the White House acted as a revealer: behind political rhetoric. Consequently, the United States constantly defends its domination, influence and prosperityincluding by the strategic use of their technologies. Nevertheless, This logic goes far beyond the figure of Trump. Moreover, is part of a substantive trend: The great powers no longer hesitate to use their digital assets as a geopolitical and economic lever.
For Europe. Similarly, and for Switzerland in particular, this reality requires a question that can no longer be rejected: what is our real dependence on American technologies, and how can we reduce it without falling into total self-sufficiency digital sovereignty: imperative europe switzerland illusions?
A diffuse, sometimes invisible dependence – Digital sovereignty: imperative europe switzerland
You must first set an observation: Our computer systems are deeply integrated into a global ecosystem. For example, The software we use, the servers that host them, the processors that run them … Therefore, The majority are designed, manufactured or controlled by American companies. For example, Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Apple, Intel, Nvidia – so many omnipresent names in our professional and personal lives.
But to believe that it would be enough to “cut” these dependencies to gain in sovereignty is an illusion. By nature. a computer system is a technological mille-feuille: interconnected software and hardware layers, components from world production chains, common protocols. Even by changing publisher or supplier, there are often indirect dependencies, sometimes impossible to trace. The idea of a 100% autonomous system. the exact origin digital sovereignty: imperative europe switzerland of each line of code and each transistor to be known, is myth.
Why limit dependence remains essential
Recognizing the impossibility of absolute independence does not mean that it should be given up. Reducing your dependence, even partially, is a strategic precautionary measure. The reasons are multiple:
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Economical: a dominant supplier can. at any time, increase its prices, change its conditions of use or limit certain features. Captive customers then undergo without real negotiation power.
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Geopolitics: In a context of international tensions, technological power can use its position to weaken a competitor or an opponent. The sanctions against Russia in 2022, with the stop of the Microsoft or Oracle support, are an illustration.
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Operational: Diversify your technologies reduces the risk of breakdown or blocking linked to a single player.
Examples in the East: Russia. China
Russia and China, both in strategic rivalry with the United States, have been initiating a technological substitution process for several years.
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In Russiathe forced removal of Microsoft. other Western publishers has accelerated the deployment of local alternatives as Astra Linux or MyOffice.
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In Chinathe approach is more anticipated: progressive adoption of Kylin os. You or WPS Office, Development of national processors, strict control of critical infrastructure.
In both cases, the objective is clear: to reduce vulnerability to external pressures, whether economic or political. But it should be noted that these strategies are facilitated by a specific context: an immense internal market. a strong industrial capacity, and sometimes a centralized control which makes it possible digital sovereignty: imperative europe switzerland to impose technological choices.
The European and Swiss situation: a necessary alarm clock
In Europe, and particularly in Switzerland, awareness is more recent but real. Companies. start-ups as established actors, try to offer alternatives to dominant American products: sovereign cloud services, local office consequences, open source platforms adapted to the needs of administrations and SMEs.
This effort deserves to be encouraged for two reasons:
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Effectively reduce dependence When it is technically possible and economically viable.
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Consciousness residual dependencein other words to understand where the risks are. to be able to manage them rather than undergo them.
Concrete actions to consider
To advance towards more digital sovereignty. without falling into illusory isolationism, several levers exist:
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Cartographing the outbuildings: Know exactly which suppliers and technologies are used in critical systems.
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Diversify solutions: combine American, European and open source technologies.
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Invest in the local ecosystem: Support Swiss and European suppliers by public and private purchasing policies.
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Make decision -makers: Integrate the challenges of digital sovereignty in IT corporate and governance strategies.
Between pragmatism and vision
Digital sovereignty is not an absolute that we reach once and for all. It is a moving balance, a continuous effort to preserve its capacity for action in an interconnected and competitive world. Faced with the technological power of the United States. it is not a question of breaking the links-it would be economically suicidal-but not to find yourself in a position of total dependence. Trump. with his assumed America First, has only made an ancient truth digital sovereignty: imperative europe switzerland more visible: each great power acts first for itself. It is up to us. in Switzerland and in Europe, to draw the consequences and to build a digital resilience adapted to our size, to our means and to our ambitions.
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