Information, Technology and Control in a Changing World: Understanding Power Structures in the 21st Century

by Blayne Haggart (Editor), Natasha Tusikov (Editor), Kathryn Henne (Editor)

Overview

This book explores the interconnected ways in which the control of knowledge has become central to the exercise of political, economic, and social power. Building on the work of International Political Economy scholar Susan Strange, this multidisciplinary volume features experts from political science, anthropology, law, criminology, women’s and gender studies, and Science and Technology Studies, who consider how the control of knowledge is shaping our everyday lives. From “weaponised copyright” as a censorship tool, to the battle over control of the internet’s “guts,” to the effects of state surveillance at the Mexico–U.S. border, this book offers a coherent way to understand the nature of power in the twenty-first century.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9783032092786
Publisher:	Springer Nature Switzerland
Publication date:	01/31/2026
Series:	International Political Economy Series
Edition description:	Second Edition 2026
Pages:	438
Product dimensions:	5.83(w) x 8.27(h) x 0.00(d)

About the Author

Blayne Haggart is a Professor of Political Science at Brock University, St. Catharines, Canada.

Natasha Tusikov is an Associate Professor of Criminology at York University, Toronto, Canada.

Kathryn Henne is a Professor and Director of the School of Regulation and Global Governance (RegNet) at the Australian National University.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Taking Knowledge Seriously: Toward and International Political Economy Theory of Knowledge Governance.- Chapter 2: A Strange Approach to Information, Network, Sharing, and Platform Societies.- Chapter 3: Hyperscalers, geopolitics and reshaping the ‘body’ of global internet infrastructure.- Chapter 4: Precarious Ownership of the Internet of Things in the Age of Data.- Chapter 5: The intellectual property economy at an inflection point.- Chapter 6: Susan Sell’s Political Economy: Power, Pragmatism, and the Possibilities for 21st Century Capitalism.- Chapter 7: Weaponising Copyright: Cultural Governance and Regulating Speech in the Knowledge Economy.- Chapter 8: Disinformation and Resistance in the Surveillance of Indigenous Protesters.- Chapter 9: Surveillance in the Name of Governance: Aadhaar as a Fix for Leaking Systems in India.- Chapter 10: A Border Seeping in All Directions: Technologies of Separation Along the U.S.-Mexico Border in Ambos Nogales.- Chapter 11: Global data extractivism and the regulation of Artificial Intelligence in Latin America.- Chapter 12: Conservation, Knowledge and Anti-colonial Visions of Co-existence.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“Susan Strange often hides in plain sight; acknowledged as a formative influence on the development of International Political Economy, yet often absent from discussions of developments that would seem well suited to be explored through her framework on structural power. This volume joins a growing body of work that utilises her most intriguing work and specifically develops her insights on the knowledge structure in light of more recent developments in global knowledge governance. Therefore, this book not only offers a timely analysis of a crucially important issue area, but it also serves notice that a major scholar has for too long been marginalised and remembered only within the sub-disciplinary arena which she (re)shaped.” (Christopher May, Professor of Political Economy, Lancaster University, UK)

“This collection of articles by leading young scholars provides a systematic prism to understand the ‘shifting power structures’ of knowledge and power in the digital era. Haggart, Henne, and Tusikov help the reader navigate the internet’s complex convergence of material infrastructures, immaterial messages, and governance. An invaluable primer to the challenges ahead.” (José van Dijck, Distinguished University Professor, Utrecht University, Netherlands, and author of The Culture of Connectivity and The Platform Society)

“We do not know nearly as much as we should about how knowledge relations work in the international economy. This novel and valuable book brings together an interdisciplinary group of scholars to better understand how knowledge works—and how it is structured by and structures power relations. It adds to a growing body of work exploring how the ideas of the late Susan Strange help us understand the secular transformations that are taking place in the world around us.” (Henry Farrell, Professor, Department of Political Science, George Washington University, USA)