Submarine data cables are one of the most important critical infrastructures of the digital age. Surprisingly little is known about how the cable network works, how it is governed and what kind of politics it entails.

In a new exploratory research project funded by the Danish Agency for Higher Education and Science, we study the cable network focusing on the cases of Denmark and South Africa. The project is a collaboration between the University of Copenhagen, the Institute for Security Studies (Pretoria), and the SafeSeas network on maritime security.