INFRASEC
Infrastructuring International Security: A comparative analysis of algorithmic passenger security (INFRASEC)
INFRASEC investigates how digital infrastructures for international security are built, deployed and scaled up, and with what effects on democratic governance. Focusing on the processing of Advance Passenger Information (API) and Passenger Name Records (PNR) by air carriers and security authorities, the project asks: How do digital infrastructures shape international security?
To do so, INFRASEC introduces the concept of algorithmic infrastructuring, defined as the organizational, computational and governance processes shaping the deployment of digital infrastructures that guide security decisions, and applies it comparatively to two major transnational initiatives: the European Union's PNR and API framework and the United Nations Countering Terrorist Travel Programme (UN CTTP).
INFRASEC is co-funded by the Belgian Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (FWO) and the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF). The project is led by Principal Investigators Rocco Bellanova (VUB), Rosamunde Van Brakel (VUB), and Matthias Leese (UZH).
Funding
FWO and SNSF (co-funding under the WEAVE scheme)
Participating institutions
Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) and University of Zurich (UZH)
Project duration
01.04.2026 – 31.03.2030
Team
Rocco Bellanova (VUB): PI
Rosamunde van Brakel (VUB): PI
Vanessa Ugolini (VUB): Postdoctoral Researcher
Matthias Leese (UZH): PI
Kailey Taplin (UZH): Postdoctoral Researcher