The Global AI Power Order
National Capacity, Boundary Control, and Systemic Influence under Uneven Technological Interdependence
- Shaoyuan Wu
Global AI Governance and Policy Research Center, EPINOVA LLC
https://orcid.org/0009-0008-0660-8232
Description
A comparative and system-level study of national AI capacity, relational boundary control, target-side autonomy, and systemic influence within the emerging global AI power order.
Abstract
This book examines how artificial intelligence capabilities become consequential forms of power under uneven technological interdependence. It distinguishes AI National Power (ANP), the conversion of resources into nationally usable capacity; AI Boundary Power (ABP), effective relational control over access to consequential AI-related functions; Boundary Autonomy, the capacity of affected actors to establish credible alternatives; and Systemic Influence, persistent, sufficiently broad, and credibly attributable structural change. Drawing on a structured comparison of thirteen principal national AI systems across five functional domains, the study examines capacity conversion, resource dependence, institutional organization, and operational maturity. It assesses semiconductor and computing boundaries alongside model, cloud, platform, data, procurement, market-access, regulatory, talent, capital, and security interfaces, and maps technological domains, international networks, strategic nodes, and overlapping regional configurations, including ASEAN. The evidence supports an emerging global AI order that is uneven, polycentric, and non-exclusive rather than a single national ranking or partition into mutually exclusive blocs. All eight candidate Systemic Influence claims remain Not Adjudicated under the specified evidentiary requirements; this is not evidence that their effects are absent. The empirical classification cutoff is 30 September 2026. The accompanying Research Supplement documents detailed evidence registers and adjudication decisions corresponding to the book's empirical classifications.
Publication files
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Companion materials
Companion documents support the book's evidence record and provide a concise overview. They are separate from the full book and do not carry its ISBN or DOI.
| Material | Availability | |
|---|---|---|
| Research Supplement Companion evidence and adjudication records S1–S6; final PDF pending editorial approval | Pending release | Not yet available |
| Executive Brief Eight-page companion overview; final public file upload pending | Pending release | Not yet available |
Keywords
- artificial intelligence
- AI power
- AI National Power
- AI Boundary Power
- Boundary Autonomy
- Systemic Influence
- global AI governance
- technological interdependence
- technological sovereignty
- AI capability stratification
- strategic autonomy
- semiconductor and computing boundaries
- AI governance and rule spaces
- comparative national AI systems
- ASEAN
- systemic risk
Subjects
- Artificial intelligence—Political aspects
- International relations
- Technology and national power
- Technology governance
- Strategic competition
- Critical infrastructure
- Global AI order
Recommended citation
Wu, Shaoyuan. The Global AI Power Order: National Capacity, Boundary Control, and Systemic Influence under Uneven Technological Interdependence. First Edition. EPINOVA Press LLC, 2026. https://doi.org/10.67037/epinova.bk.2026.006
APA citation
Wu, S. (2026). The global AI power order: National capacity, boundary control, and systemic influence under uneven technological interdependence (1st ed.). EPINOVA Press LLC. https://doi.org/10.67037/epinova.bk.2026.006
Alternate identifiers
| Scheme | Identifier | Description |
|---|---|---|
| ISBN-13 | 979-8-89958-005-5 | Paperback edition ISBN |
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