In a world where digital development and policymaking are dominated by Silicon Valley tech giants, the BRICS countries – Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa – play an increasingly important role. With forty percent of the world’s population and twenty-five percent of global GDP, these nations possess vast troves of personal data. Yet, their conceptions, narratives, and initiatives of digital sovereignty remain understudied. This talk, based on the recently published volume, Digital Sovereignty in the BRICS Countries: How the Global South and Emerging Power Alliances are Reshaping Digital Governance (Cambridge University Press, 2025), offers a forward-looking take on what a world less dependent on Silicon Valley might look like, and makes important contributions to the digital sovereignty debate. 

Dr. Min Jiang is Professor of Communication Studies, an affiliate faculty member of International Studies at UNC Charlotte, and CyberBRICS Visiting Professor at FGV Law School (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil). She is Vice Chair Elect of the Communication Law & Policy Division of International Communication Association (ICA), a Secretariat member of the annual international Chinese Internet Research Conference (CIRC) as well as an Executive Steering Committee member and China Director of the Global Media & Internet Concentration Project (GMCIP), a $2.5 million CAD grant to investigate media ownership and concentration issues in 30+ countries. Her work lies at the intersections of digital technology, policy and geopolitics with a focus on China and the Global South (especially BRICS countries). She has co-edited three journal special issues and published over 40 journal articles, book chapters, research reports and book reviews. A book she co-edited – Digital Sovereignty in the BRICS Countries – was published in 2024 by Cambridge University Press. She received her Ph.D. in Communication from Purdue University in 2007.

本次讲座主持为 Jing Wang, Assistant Professor of Interactive Media Business (IMB), NYU Shanghai.