Contentious global debates over digital technologies increasingly stem from the technical foundations of the Internet itself. Geopolitics at the Internet’s Core: A Policy Practitioner’s Perspective explores how core technical specifications—particularly the Internet Protocol (IP), which enables the addressing and routing of online information—serve as proxies for political and economic power. By tracing the evolution and potential futures of IP, the book reveals how the Internet’s underlying infrastructure has become a key site of geopolitical and domestic contestation in a fragmented world.

Uniquely co-authored by three academics from both sides of the Atlantic and a former government policy practitioner, the book bridges rigorous research with firsthand experience in policymaking. This discussion will explore its central themes, the collaborative writing process, and the eight IP-related “levers of power” the authors identify as a framework for understanding technology governance in today’s global context.

About the Speaker:

Fiona Alexander is a Distinguished Policy Strategist in Residence and Distinguished Fellow at American University’s School of International Service and Internet Governance Lab. She is also a Non-Resident Senior Fellow with the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA) and co-founder of Salt Point Strategies, a consulting firm specializing in public affairs and technology policy.

Fiona spent nearly 20 years at the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), serving as Associate Administrator for International Affairs and leading global Internet, cyber, and communications policy efforts. She began her career as a Senior Consultant with Booz Allen Hamilton and holds degrees in International Relations from American University and in International Studies from Old Dominion University.