Research Stay at the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies in Cologne

On October 1, Dr Paško Bilić began a research stay at the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies (MPIfG) in Cologne, Germany. The Institute is at the forefront of research in political economy and economic sociology. During his stay, Paško Bilić will conduct research titled “The Political Economy of the Cloud: Data Centres and the Reconfiguration of Infrastructural Power in Europe” in the Technology and Statehood research group. The aim is to develop a political-economic and institutional approach to data centres as strategic sites where state infrastructural power and the global logic of capital accumulation intersect. Specific objectives include enriching the debate on European technological sovereignty by focusing on internal asymmetries and diverse institutional configurations across member states. The project will provide an analytical framework for evaluating digital infrastructure in various national settings. It will contribute to an understanding of how data centres and digital infrastructure are integrated into diverse political, economic, and institutional contexts. The visiting stay is fully aligned, both organizationally and substantively, with the work plan of the Croatian Science Foundation (HRZZ) project DEVELOPER (2023–2027). The stay lasts until December 18 and is largely funded by the CULTMED project.