Digital Sovereignty in BRICS Countries: Policy Responses to the Challenges of Digital Neocolonialism

Abstract

The article is devoted to the analysis of digital neocolonialism and the issues of ensuring state digital sovereignty amid the transformation of the global digital space. In recent years, the concept of digital sovereignty has been gaining prominence in global political and public discourse: issues related to digital sovereignty are raised at both supranational (the EU, the World Economic Forum) and national levels (for example, Canada). The BRICS countries are not lagging behind this trend: at the current stage, each member state is implementing initiatives aimed at strengthening state digital sovereignty, enshrined in national regulatory frameworks. Some scholars associate this trend with the growing «data colonialism» of transnational digital corporations that exploit population data in exchange for services a phenomenon referred to in the literature as digital neocolonialism. The study sets the following objectives: first, to clarify the concept of «digital sovereignty» based on contemporary domestic and international academic approaches; second, to conduct a comparative analysis of the institutional, legal-regulatory, and strategic foundations of BRICS member states’ policies on protecting digital sovereignty; third, to formulate and substantiate a scenario for the development of BRICS cooperation on digital sovereignty protection in the context of international challenges posed by digital neocolonialism. The purpose of this article is to identify the current political course of the BRICS countries in protecting digital sovereignty in response to emerging challenges of digital neocolonialism. To achieve this aim, the study seeks to identify the key features of digital sovereignty and to define digital neocolonialism; to outline common steps taken by BRICS countries in protecting digital sovereignty; to determine national models of digital sovereignty protection (including new members); and to identify constraints on the development of a common BRICS approach to digital sovereignty. The research employs case study methods, document analysis, the comparative method, and scenario method. The findings make it possible to assess the potential and limits of cooperation among BRICS countries in the field of digital policy and to identify possible directions for developing coordinated approaches to the protection of digital sovereignty.