When we look at the history of humanity, it becomes clear that human societies have developed through several major phases. Each phase not only introduced new technologies, but also fundamentally changed how people lived, cooperated and organised themselves. The first major phase was that of nomadic humanity. Small groups of hunter-gatherers moved across the landscape… Continue reading From Muscle Man to Network Man
Without processes there is no time. We often speak of “the turbulent times we live in” as if time itself were a container in which events unfold. That image is misleading — especially in a world that is becoming increasingly digital and fluid. Neither the past nor the future exist as independent physical realities. There is only… Continue reading Time, Information and the Fluid Society
We are living in a time when everything seems to change at once. Geopolitical power shifts, the overexploitation of our planet, climate change and loss of biodiversity all overlap. Since World War II, the world’s population has quadrupled to around eight billion people — who on average consume several times more than a generation ago.… Continue reading The World in Transition
This article has been published on 20 August 2025 in iBestuur Introduction. Europe currently accounts for about a quarter of Big Tech’s global revenue. The United States, with a smaller population, uses significantly more Big Tech services per capita. If Europe were to reach a similar per-person usage level as the US, the European IT… Continue reading Europe must develop its own IT services
The Taskforce-Digital-Sovereign-Europe regularly publishes articles on Europe’s digital sovereignty. The following article was recently published in the Dutch journal iBestuur (https://ibestuur.nl/artikel/pleidooi-voor-minister-van-digitalisering-in-nieuw-kabinet/) With new elections and the formation of a new cabinet on the horizon, the political spotlight is once again turning to digitalisation. The Taskforce Digital Sovereign Europe spoke with Roel Bekker, former Secretary-General and… Continue reading A Minister for Digitalisation in the Next Dutch Cabinet
A future vision for a strong, cooperative continent The problem with superpowers. Today’s world order is being held hostage by three superpowers: the United States, Russia, and China. Each seems to believe the globe can be neatly divided into spheres of influence — Russia over Europe, the US over the Americas, and China over Asia.… Continue reading The United States of Europe
This article was published on 2 April 2025 in i-Bestuur as an opinion piece: https://ibestuur.nl/artikel/kan-europa-overleven-zonder-eigen-big-tech/ If Europe wants to survive economically in the digital age, it must develop its own large international Big Tech companies and a European digital ecosystem. Simplifying the many regulatory and fiscal barriers within Europe, along with creating a dynamic European capital market,… Continue reading Can Europe Survive Without Its Own Big Tech?
The attached article was published on February 28, 2025, in the magazine i-Bestuur as a so-called Podium article. https://ibestuur.nl/artikel/europa-heeft-dringend-een-digitale-raad-nodig/ Europe Urgently Needs a Digital Council The intense debate surrounding the digital era reveals a paradigm shift of unprecedented proportions, in which Europe is not at the forefront. In the U.S., with the might of Big Tech onboard,… Continue reading Europe Urgently needs a Digital Council
In the United States, a number of IT billionaires are set to join Trump’s administration. Besides Elon Musk, Peter Thiel (PayPal, Facebook) and Ramaswamy (IT billionaire) will also be stepping in. Their role is intriguing: they are being given a free hand with the mission of making the government more efficient. This illustrates that Big… Continue reading Big Tech to govern
This article is an update of an article from 9 January 2020 Intro. In a world where climate change, digitalisation, and migration know no borders, many politicians cling to outdated nationalist thinking. While companies and scientists already collaborate across borders, the political sphere is lagging behind. It’s time to build a digital world order based… Continue reading Stop managing borders – start building a digital world
