NN Ep:9 A New Political Landscape in the Digital Age with Nick Srnicek & Sofia Cossar

New @greenpillnet pod out today! 🌐

In this episode of the Network Nations mini-series, host Felix Beer is joined by Nick Srnicek (author of Platform Capitalism and Silicon Empires) and Sofia Cossar (BlockchainGov) to explore the emerging concept of Network Sovereignty.

They unpack how power is shifting from nation-states to digital networks, why platforms now function like political infrastructures, and how algorithms, protocols, and platforms increasingly shape governance, speech, and economic life.
The conversation examines platform empires, AI infrastructure, state power, civil society strategies, Web3, cooperative platforms, and what it would take to reclaim networks as democratic commons rather than extractive systems.

A foundational episode for anyone trying to understand sovereignty, power, and governance in a networked world.

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 ⏱️ Timestamps 

00:00 – Welcome to the Network Nations mini-series
01:30 – What are Network Nations?
02:10 – Introducing today's topic: Network Sovereignty
02:45 – Guests: Nick Srnicek & Sofia Cossar
04:30 – Living in the network age
05:35 – Platforms as infrastructures, not just tools
07:40 – Is there an "outside" to the network?
09:45 – Modulating participation instead of exiting
11:10 – Platform capitalism & concentrated power
13:30 – From markets to empires: platforms as political actors
15:55 – Rule-making, enforcement & taxation by platforms
18:15 – AI, data centers & physical infrastructure power
20:20 – States vs platforms: dependency and conflict
22:20 – Civil society as a third force
24:30 – Three strategies for reclaiming network power
26:25 – Data centers, environment & local resistance
28:25 – Open-source AI & alternative pathways
30:30 – Workers, AI & political leverage
32:40 – What is Network Sovereignty?
35:00 – People, space & governance in network entities
37:15 – Historical examples of network sovereigns
39:05 – Platform empires vs network communities
41:20 – States reasserting control over networks
43:35 – Civil society building its own infrastructure
45:55 – Web3: political potential and risks
48:20 – Exit vs entrance as a political problem
50:05 – Cooperative platforms as real alternatives
52:20 – Why states must support alternatives
54:25 – Accelerationism, work & political power
56:40 – Technology for liberation vs profit
59:05 – Organizing movements in platform-dominated spaces
01:00:50 – Projects and researchers to follow
01:02:30 – Closing thoughts & what's next