University of Amsterdam: Quantum Computing and the Global South

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The Research Group on the Law and Governance of Quantum Technologies is based at the University of Amsterdam and was established with the support of Quantum Delta NL's Action Line 4 and the Centre for Quantum & Society (CQS). The group examines the legal and governance dimensions of quantum technologies as they move from laboratory to policy.

Research and analysis on quantum computing within the Global South has, until recently, been dominated by national security frameworks. Quantum computing activity is underway across a wide range of G-77 countries –— from Brazil to South Africa –— yet Global North discussions tend to narrow their focus to China, India, and Singapore. At the same time, there are growing international calls for open, equitable scientific collaboration. In November 2023, UNESCO adopted a proposal, led primarily by the Global South, to declare 2025 the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology.

The University of Amsterdam commissioned AWO to produce an independent report examining how Global South states are engaging with quantum computing and what governance frameworks might serve their interests.

  • Typology

    Through desk research and analysis of policies, partnerships, and industrial developments across the G-77, AWO proposed a three-part framework: 'Build' states developing sovereign quantum capabilities; 'Procure' states acquiring hardware and software through strategic partnerships; and 'Cloud Access' states reliant solely on commercial, foreign-hosted cloud services.

  • Political economy

    The report examined the downstream implications of each access route, including dependence on US-based cloud infrastructure, environmental costs, and emerging geopolitical dynamics that extend beyond the US-China axis.

  • Recommendations

    AWO set out preliminary recommendations covering supply chain mapping, Global South participation in existing governance bodies, and more speculative computing access and governance structures –— deliberately broad, to invite further research and country-level engagement.

The report was launched at an online panel hosted by CQS in May 2024, bringing together voices from UNESCO, Quantum Delta NL, the Institute for Information Law (IViR), and AWO. It is intended as an opening intervention: a grounded, technically honest account of where the Global South stands in relation to quantum computing, and what questions the international community should be asking.

Read the full 'Quantum Computing and the G-77' report.

Quantum Computing and the G-77

  • “Quantum computing governance debates tend to move faster than the technology itself, and often without the Global South in the room – this report was an attempt to address both problems at once.”

    AWO

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