Blockchain

With the emergence of blockchain technologies, new forms of decentralized governance came to light. As they challenged the State’s monopolies over the emission of money or administration of public records, they seemed to represent a new kind of challenge to the sovereignty of the States. Nevertheless, members of the blockchain communities and public servants teamed up to initiate ambitious projects conceived to use blockchain tech as a digital infrastructure for innovative public services. From the European Blockchain Services Infrastructure to Self-Sovereign Identity initiatives, the Digital, Governance and Sovereignty Chair dedicates this dossier to these new opportunities to renovate administrations using distributed ledgers technologies.

Additional contributions are available on the French version of this page.


21 June 2024

[POLICY BRIEF] Monetary sovereignty in a digital world, by Jean-Pierre Landau and Sarah Nicole

This policy brief explores the challenges to monetary sovereignty in the digital age, addressing the risks posed by digitalization and […]
31 August 2023

[STUDENT POLICY BRIEF] Should Interoperability across Social Media Platforms be mandatory in the EU?

By Louis Denart, Noah Fröhlich, Nicoletta Koch & Giovanni Maggi The Digital, Governance and Sovereignty Chair publishes, on a regular […]
7 July 2023

[STUDENT POLICY BRIEF] Is encryption a fundamental right? 

By Stavroula Chousou, Julia Magaud, Ludovica Pavoni & Morgan Williams The Digital, Governance and Sovereignty Chair publishes, on a regular […]
18 January 2023

[REPLAY] Standford winter webinar with Florence G’sell on “The Impact of Blockchains for Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule of Law”

To kick off 2023, Florence G’sell, holder of the Digital, Governance and Sovereignty Chair at Sciences Po participated in a […]
16 May 2022

[INTERVIEW] The EU Proposal for a Regulation on Crypto-assets ‘MiCA’: 3 questions to Stéphane Blemus

The EU institutions are finalising their trilogue discussions on a major legislative text for European digital markets: the EU Proposal […]
17 March 2022

[INTERVIEW] Joe Biden’s Crypto Executive Order: 3 questions to Thibault Schrepel

Dr. Thibault Schrepel, LL.M., is an Associate Professor of Law at VU Amsterdam University, where he co-directs the Amsterdam Law […]
28 January 2022

[INTERVIEW] Deflating the NFT hype – An interview with Jack FRANSHAM

By Rachel Griffin Let’s start with the basics. What is an NFT and how do they relate to blockchain and […]
21 December 2020

[ARTICLE] What is Self-Sovereign Identity and should States be afraid of it?

by Pierre Noro Who are you when you browse the Internet? This seemingly trivial question covers a very complex, deep, […]
21 December 2020

[ARTICLE] Blockchain governance in the public sector: 3 keys to success

by Evrim Tan Blockchain governance is a primary concern albeit one of the least understood aspects of blockchain-based systems. As […]
11 September 2020

[POLICY BRIEF] Blockchain Technology as an Instrument for Global Governance, by Primavera DE FILIPPI

Permanent researcher at the National Center of Scientific Research (CNRS) in Paris, faculty associate at the Berkman Klein Center for […]
24 July 2020

[INTERVIEW] Can cryptocurrencies compete with fiat money ? with Christian PFISTER

Can cryptocurrencies compete with fiat money? Are they a threat to the monetary independence of sovereign States? Why are stablecoins […]
20 April 2020

[REVIEW] A look back on the conference “Should money remain in the hands of states?”

In 2008, Satoshi Nakamoto started an innovative payment network that uses peer-to-peer technology to operate with no central authority. Bitcoin […]