Data security, digital sovereignty, and economic resilience: Challenges for emerging digital economies

Emerging digital economies increasingly depend on data to deliver payments, public services, and international trade. These dependencies create a policy problem: governments must protect sensitive information and retain meaningful control over essential systems while preserving access to technology and external markets. This article examines how data security and digital sovereignty can support economic resilience under limited institutional and technical capacity. A purposive narrative review connects research on sovereignty and resilience with international evidence on data governance, cybersecurity, and digital development. The analysis distinguishes legal authority over data from the operational ability to protect systems, recover services, and replace suppliers. It identifies four interacting challenges: uneven security capabilities, dependence on external infrastructure, fragmented regulation, and unequal access to digital services. The article proposes a framework that evaluates sovereignty through legal enforceability, operational recovery, technological substitutability, and inclusive access. It also develops observable indicators and propositions for future empirical testing. The central argument is that domestic data storage can support selected policy objectives, but its contribution to resilience depends on the threat addressed and the capabilities available. Risk-based safeguards, tested recovery arrangements, portable procurement, and regional cooperation offer a practical basis for strengthening autonomy while maintaining productive international connections. These conclusions are conceptual and do not constitute estimates of causal effects.