Coalition Building and Sino–US Competition in the Digital Era

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Abstract Digital coalitions are the primary tool of the USA to compete with China in the digital age and differ markedly from traditional alliances and military coalitions. It is necessary to go beyond the vision of pure great power rivalry and probe Sino–US digital competition through the lens of coalitions and the relationship between the dominant state and coalition members. A digital coalition is a state consortium with an organisational nature, confrontational targets, common goals, and the capability to take collective action, formed to deal with the digital strategy, norms, standards, industry, and products. The two main determinants of the building and maintenance of the digital coalition are the security dependency of allies on the USA and the technological stranglehold in the digital relationship. Security dependency determines the likelihood of coalition construction; the higher the dependency, the more willing allies will be to respond to the dominant state’s digital security narrative and mobilisation. There is potential for the construction of simple digital coalitions centred on conceptions and governance initiatives. However, building and maintaining a complex digital coalition depends on the presence of a technological stranglehold as well as security dependencies. A technological stranglehold involves controlling the supply of key technologies critical to the survival of the industry, and compels allies to sacrifice market interests and participate in a digital coalition to ensure the integrity of their industries. The Chip 4 Alliance and Trade and Technology Council are typical examples of US-led digital coalitions.