Virtual Routes continued its central contribution to the Horizon Europe project on Reigniting Multilateralism Through Technology (REMIT) at its annual meeting in Brussels, on 12 and 13 February. Although the global outlook for multilateralism in general – and multilateralism on the governance of digital technologies in particular – is far from favourable, this makes it all the more urgent to conduct research on its conditions, constraints, and future possibilities. It is equally crucial to translate this research into policy impact; another of REMIT’s core aims.

This annual meeting, held halfway through the project, took stock of its achievements over the first two years, as well as developing further plans for increasing research and impact in the second two years. Virtual Routes Co-Director James Shires presented on behalf of a research stream, led by Virtual Routes, focused on identifying the main characteristics and trends in strategic digital technologies in society. 

Dr Shires’ presentation included a recent article, co-authored with Dr Bassant Hassib, on the concept of “digital recognition”: the role that digital technologies play in decisions about when and how states choose to recognize other states in international politics. While in Brussels, Dr Shires also presented these research findings in an online roundtable on “Navigating the Digital Frontier: Cybersecurity and Geopolitics in the Middle East”, organized by the Middle East Council with a recording available online.

The Virtual Routes team looks forward to working with the fantastic members of the REMIT consortium on a range of vital research events on multilateralism and technology in the coming two years.