This April, the School on Internet Governance (SWING) 2026 convened in Bruges, Belgium, to tackle one of the most complex and fast-evolving concepts in modern tech policy: Digital Sovereignty. Hosted by the United Nations University (UNU-CRIS), the program brought together graduate students, ICT professionals, and policymakers to explore the intersection of geopolitics, economics, and fundamental rights in the digital age.

As a central expert in the curriculum, Dr. Julia Pohle (WZB/ClaimSov) shared her extensive research on the shifting dynamics of global digital governance. She co-delivered two foundational core seminars:

• Introduction to Digital Sovereignty: A session designed to provide a critical framework for understanding how states and individuals can make autonomous choices regarding data, infrastructure, and strategic technologies.
• From Governance to Sovereignty: This seminar analyzed the transition from traditional multi-stakeholder internet governance to the current era of sovereignty claims, examining the political and normative challenges this shift presents.

Drawing on her role as a leading researcher at the WZB Berlin Social Science Center and her work coordinating policy briefs for the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC), Pohle provided participants with a deep dive into the trade-offs between technological innovation and democratic control.

Discover more about the program at the United Nations University (UNU-CRIS) website.