Jose Miguel Alonso Trabanco

Profile

Thesis Title
The Geopolitical Dimension of Digital Currencies and their Implications for the Field of Security

Research Description
The rise of cryptocurrencies cannot be understood just in terms of technological or economic criteria. In fact, it is pertinent to examine their geopolitical implications from a comprehensive perspective. Hence, through a comparative analysis of several representative digital currencies, my PhD thesis intends to demonstrate that −even in the age of the so-called «Fourth Industrial Revolution»− there is a strong connection between geopolitical realities and monetary affairs, which entails far-reaching ramifications for the fields of national and international security. Hence, in the grand scheme of things, this contribution has the potential to provide a heightened sense of situational awareness about the growing importance of financial and monetary issues for contemporary security studies.

Research Importance
Considering its nature and scope, the contents of this project could offer valuable insight for entities, decision-makers and scholars involved in statecraft, security, strategic studies, intelligence analysis, foreign policy, international political economy, finance, transnational business operations and banking, amongst others.

Personal Description
As an international relations professional who holds a Masters’ Degree in Security and Strategic Intelligence, I am interested in geopolitics, geoeconomics, grand strategy, the changing nature of national power, the rise of new expressions of conflict, the long-term evolution of hegemony, emerging challenges for both national and international security and −above all− the increasing intersection between geopolitics and finance as a phenomenon that might reshape the global balance of power in the 21st century.

Supervisors
Professor Rouben Azizian
Associate Professor Russell Prince
Dr Cadey Korson