The Brussels Bubble

Rebecca Adler-Nissen is the Professor of International Relations at the University of Copenhagen. A scholar of international relations, diplomacy, technology and the EU, she has published books and articles in major outlets, including International Organization and Cambridge University Press, and has received numerous international prizes and honours, including the Susan Strange Award and the Best Book in International Political Sociology. She led the ERC project, DIPLOFACE, which developed and funded research on this book. Rebecca serves as Director of the National Centre for AI in Society in Denmark, an interdisciplinary centre of excellence dedicated to exploring the intersection of artificial intelligence, tech, geopolitics and society. She is PI of the ERC project TECORDER exploring the intersection of geopolitical struggles and tech companies across the world. Kristin Anabel Eggeling is Senior Researcher at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs and affiliated researcher at the Department of Political Science at the University of Copenhagen and the Danish Institute for International Studies. Her research has won international recognition and awards in the field of international relations and diplomatic studies, and she has published in major scholarly outlets, including European Journal of International Relations, Review of International Studies and International Political Sociology. Kristin was a researcher in the DIPLOFACE project and led and conducted the ethnographic research this book is based on. Before working in academia, she worked in the European Parliament in Brussels and in the German International Chamber of Commerce in Doha.

'What a gem of a book. 'The Brussels Bubble' offers a richly textured, and refreshingly original ethnographic journey into the everyday world of EU diplomats and eurocrats. Combining sharp analytical insight with vivid storytelling, it punctures clichés about 'Brussels'. It reveals not only the human logics and lived negotiations that animate European governance, but also the transformative-and often overlooke-role of digital technologies in shaping work, authority, and connection inside the bubble. A must-read for anyone seeking to understand how the EU really works in a digitally mediated age-beyond institutions, beyond policy, and inside the lived experience of its practitioners.' Stephanie C. Hofmann, European University Institute

• Preface; 1. In the Brussels bubble; 2. Love-hating the digital; 3. Classifying balloons; 4. 'Boring handshakes'; 5. Digital diplomats; 6. The show must go on(line); Conclusion; A note on writing and researching this book; Index.