30 Aug Invited paper presented at the RGS-IBS Annual Meeting, Panel Digital Territories. London (UK), 27-30 August: PostWestphalian Datafied Network States.

I recently had the opportunity to present my latest paper at the RGS-IBG (Royal Geographical Society with the Institute of British Geographers) Annual Meeting, as part of the Panel on Digital Territories, held in London from August 27-30. The presentation, titled “PostWestphalian Datafied Network States”, explored the evolving concept of the nation-state in the era of pervasive datafication, examining how new forms of governance and territoriality are emerging in a post-Westphalian global context.

This panel was organized by the ERC-Advanced project Regional Futures.

As digital and data infrastructures become central to governance, traditional geopolitical boundaries are being redefined, leading to the rise of what I refer to as “datafied network states.” These entities are shaped not by physical borders but by flows of data, technology, and AI-driven governance models. The presentation also highlighted how AI, blockchain, and decentralized technologies are increasingly influencing how we conceptualize statehood, sovereignty, and territoriality.

For those interested in delving deeper into the paper’s arguments and methodologies, a preprint is available for download on SSRN:
Calzada, I. (2024), (Libertarian) Decentralized Web3 Map: In Search of a Post-Westphalian Territory. SSRN. DOI: 10.2139/ssrn.4937294.

I would like to extend my gratitude to Prof. Ayona Datta and the organizers of the RGS-IBG conference for providing such a stimulating environment to discuss these pressing issues.

Stay tuned for more updates as this research progresses.