In recent years, digital autonomy has shifted from the margins of the technological debate to the very core of national security. For the Czech Republic, as a medium-sized country deeply integrated into global value and supply chains, it is no longer a question of technological comfort but of strategic survival. A state that does not have a basic level of control over its digital systems, data, and communication flows loses the ability to make independent decisions, defend itself, and fulfill its alliance commitments.

Digital autonomy does not mean digital isolation or technological autarky. It is the ability of the state to freely decide on the use of digital technologies, minimize critical dependencies, and maintain the functionality of key systems even in conditions of crisis, coercion, or open conflict. In other words, it is a question of whether the state remains a subject or becomes an object of the digital power of other actors.

Today, the Czech Republic operates in an environment where most critical digital layers—from cloud services to operating systems to data platforms—are owned and controlled by foreign corporations, often subject to the legal regimes of third countries. This creates a structural vulnerability that is not hypothetical. Legal instruments such as the US CLOUD Act, extraterritorial sanctions regimes, and the politicization of access to technology show that digital infrastructure has become an instrument of geopolitical influence.

From a security perspective, digital autonomy is inextricably linked to the resilience of the state. All modern armed conflicts confirm that the digital space is the first domain of conflict. Cyberattacks, data manipulation, disruption of communication networks, and information operations now precede and accompany conventional military operations. A state that does not have control over its own data, software, and networks is incapable of effective defense or credible deterrence.

Digital autonomy has a very specific meaning for the Czech Armed Forces. Modern military capabilities are based on data, sensor fusion, networked command and control systems, and interoperability within NATO. If the key digital components of these systems are dependent on suppliers whose availability cannot be guaranteed in a crisis situation, there is a fundamental erosion of operational sovereignty.

Interoperability within the Alliance does not mean relinquishing national control, but rather requires each member to be able to guarantee the security of its own digital inputs into the common system.

Digital autonomy also has a strong economic and industrial dimension. The Czech Republic has long underestimated the strategic importance of its domestic technology ecosystem. Without targeted support for national and European capacities in the areas of cybersecurity, cloud solutions, artificial intelligence, and data analytics, the state is condemning itself to permanent dependence. This does not mean that the state should produce everything itself, but that it should have a real choice, diversification, and control.

Another fundamental problem is the fragmentation of responsibility. Digital autonomy does not currently exist in the Czech Republic as a unified strategic goal, but rather as a set of partial initiatives scattered across various ministries. There is no clear political authority that would understand digital security as a cross-cutting issue of state sovereignty rather than a technical problem for IT departments. Without this change in perspective, the Czech Republic will remain reactive and vulnerable.

The European framework offers both opportunities and limitations. The concept of European digital sovereignty can be a tool for the Czech Republic to strengthen its own autonomy, provided that it does not become a mere transfer of dependence from the global to the European level without real control. Active participation in the formation of European standards, joint defense projects, and secure digital infrastructures is key, but it must not lead to the resignation of national competences in the field of security.

The digital autonomy of the Czech Republic is therefore not a question of the future, but of the present. It is a prerequisite for functional state power, credible defense, and political sovereignty in the 21st century. A state that does not invest in control over its digital space today risks finding out in a moment of crisis that it no longer makes key decisions itself. And that is a risk that no responsible security policy can afford to take.