RUSI NewsbriefEmerging Researchmembers only

The Algorithmic Deterrent

Francisco Carneiro
16 July 2026clockLong Read
Alex Karp, co-founder and CEO of the software firm Palantir Technologies.

Manifesto: Alex Karp, co-founder and CEO of the software firm Palantir Technologies. Image: Abaca Press / Alamy Stock

Palantir’s manifesto and the sovereignty question for states without algorithmic independence.

Please wait while we verify your account for you to view this content.

WRITTEN BY

Francisco Carneiro

Guest Contributor

View profile

Footnotes

1.:

'Palantir's Summary of CEO Alexander Karp's Manifesto Is Generating Buzz. Read the 22 Bullet Points', AOL (20 April 2026); 'Technology Is Never Neutral — Palantir's Technological Republic: All 22 Points, Context, and Global Reaction', Pebblous (accessed 22 June 2026).

2.:

'Palantir: Why Its Political Manifesto Is Causing a Stir', The Business Standard (15 May 2026).

3.:

'Palantir: Why Its Political Manifesto Is Causing a Stir', The Business Standard (15 May 2026).

4.:

'Palantir's Summary of CEO Alexander Karp's Manifesto Is Generating Buzz', AOL.

5.:

'Alex Karp', Wikipedia (accessed 22 June 2026).

6.:

Byline Times, 'Decoding the Technofascist Tendency in Palantir’s Manifesto' (30 April 2026); MercoPress, 'Palantir Manifesto Draws Global Criticism over "Technofascist" and Militarist Vision of the West' (27 April 2026).

7.:

'Surging Stock Made Palantir's Alex Karp $6.8 Billion Richer Last Year', Fortune, reported by Farient Advisors (5 May 2025); 'Alex Karp', Wikipedia.

8.:

'Palantir Posted a Manifesto That Reads Like the Ramblings of a Comic Book Villain', Engadget (19 April 2026); 'Palantir's Mini Manifesto Claims Some Cultures Are "Harmful" and "Middling"', Fortune (22 April 2026).

9.:

'Palantir’s Kill Chain Meets the Multipolar Child', Orinoco Tribune (11 May 2026); Palantir Chief Technology Officer Shyam Sankar, interview, Bloomberg TV (March 2026).

10.:

France 24, 'What the Palantir CEO's "Manifesto" Tells Us About the Changing Face of War' (23 April 2026).

11.:

'Palantir's Mini Manifesto Claims Some Cultures Are "Harmful" and "Middling"', Fortune.

12.:

'Palantir's Mini Manifesto Claims Some Cultures Are "Harmful" and "Middling"', Fortune.; 'Palantir Just Laid Out a 22-Point Guideline for Its View on the 21st Century', The Motley Fool (20 April 2026).

13.:

'Palantir's Mini Manifesto', Fortune.

14.:

Byline Times, 'Decoding the Technofascist Tendency in Palantir's Manifesto'.

15.:

Byline Times, 'Decoding the Technofascist Tendency in Palantir's Manifesto'.

16.:

James Görgen, 'Palantir’s "Manifesto" and the Digital Sovereignty of Other Nations', Tech Policy Press (28 April 2026).

17.:

Fair Observer, 'The Hat in the Square: Palantir, Republik, and the Pattern of Swiss Compliance' (2026); Republik (Zurich), February 2026 investigation.

18.:

European Federation of Journalists, statement on Palantir's legal action against Republik (2026); Financial Times report on the litigation (2026).

19.:

Görgen, 'Palantir's "Manifesto" and the Digital Sovereignty of Other Nations', citing Don Moynihan.

20.:

Vanda Felbab-Brown, 'How Mexican Cartels Are Using Drones, Now and in the Future', Brookings Institution (23 April 2026); Center for Strategic and International Studies, 'Illicit Innovation: Latin America Is Not Prepared to Fight Criminal Drones' (2025); InSight Crime, 'Drones Fuel Criminal Arms Race in Latin America' (20 March 2025).

Explore our related content

    Stay up to date with RUSI