CDP’s Future

The CDP bureau and the office of the special envoy for emerging technology are important first steps towards establishing a more serious and consistent State Department voice on digital policy. Many crucial decisions have yet to be made, such as who will lead these new entities and how they will balance competing priorities in their bid to elevate digital policy in the State Department. Digital tech policy defies easy categorization—no longer can it be broken down into neat security, economic, or human rights categories. Increasingly, these issues are intertwined. These problems demand an integrated response and reinforce the importance of CDP’s mandate. Given the enormity of digital challenges the United States faces from geostrategic peer competitors, there is little time to waste in bolstering this function.

Steven Feldstein is a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in the Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program, where he focuses on issues of technology and democracy, human rights, and U.S. foreign policy. Previously, he was the holder of the Frank and Bethine Church Chair of Public Affairs at Boise State University and also served as a deputy assistant secretary in the democracy, human rights, and labor bureau in the U.S. Department of State.

Image: Reuters.