Beichen Ding (University of Berne) has posted Reconfiguring Sovereignty Through Data: National Security, Data Localization, and the RCEP-DEPA Divide on SSRN. Here is the abstract:
The rapid expansion of the digital economy has intensified tensions between cross-border data flows, national security, and state sovereignty. This article examines how data localization measures are accommodated within contemporary digital trade agreements through the lens of national security exceptions. Focusing on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (hereinafter “RCEP”), the article analyses whether and how data localization requirements, particularly those embedded in China’s data governance regime, can be justified under RCEP’s security exception framework, and how this framework departs from the more constrained approach developed under WTO law. It argues that RCEP embeds broad, self-judging and non-justiciable security exceptions that significantly dilute commitments on cross-border data flows, reflecting the regulatory preferences and security concerns of its diverse membership. By contrast, the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement (hereinafter “DEPA”) is consensus-based and process-oriented, which emphasizes cooperation, modular participation, and trust-building. Through this comparison, the article advances a broader claim that Asia-Pacific digital regionalism is reconfiguring sovereignty itself, from a territorially absolute concept to a functional and negotiable authority exercised over data in the digital economy.
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