This volume is based on papers presented and discussed at the conference Closing the Gap 2023, Emerging and Disruptive Digital Technologies: Regional Perspectives, on 6 and 7 December 2023 at Glazen Zaal in The Hague, the Netherlands. The conference was organised by Leiden University, as part of the EU Cyber Direct project, and brought together authors and representatives from numerous institutions around the world.
The aim of the conference was to explore the diversity of interpretations regarding the challenges and opportunities associated with various digital emerging and disruptive technologies (EDTs), de-centre approaches to their study (which have so far been largely Western or Europe-centric in nature) as well as enrich the state of the art.
The chapters in this volume are divided into three sections focusing respectively on ‘national perspectives: policy meets technology’; ‘interstate and diplomatic arenas: navigating critical emerging technologies’; and ‘harnessing quantum technologies nationally and internationally’.
In each of the chapters, authors address different geographical locations — be it cities, countries or blocks of countries — in relation to the application or consideration of a range of digital EDTs in different contexts.
