A new project supported by the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation and funded by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation's “Future of Work” initiative highlights how private actors are increasingly taking on fundamental democratic functions. “The Authoritarian Stack: How Tech Billionaires Are Building a Post-Democratic America — And Why Europe Is Next” maps over 250 companies, funds, and political actors and documents thousands of verified connections and financial flows totaling US$45 billion.

The findings reveal how these networks are influencing key areas traditionally managed by governments, including:

• Social services and welfare programs – from distribution of benefits to access management
• Law enforcement and surveillance – privatized technologies and data systems
• Public health and healthcare provision – from testing platforms to healthcare data management
• Elections and political campaigning – voter engagement tools and data-driven strategies
• Critical infrastructure – energy, transportation, and digital networks

In July 2025, the U.S. Army quietly signed a ten-billion-dollar contract with Palantir Technologies, consolidating seventy-five procurement agreements into a single deal. Framed as a move toward efficiency, the contract represents something far larger: a strategic handover of core military functions to a private company whose German founder, Peter Thiel, has openly declared that “freedom and democracy are no longer compatible.”

Investigations reveal how Silicon Valley firms like Palantir, Anduril, and SpaceX are increasingly operating as state-like powers—writing the rules, controlling infrastructure, and exporting their influence abroad. Executives from these companies are moving into high-ranking government and military roles, even receiving commissions as lieutenant colonels. The line between contractor and commander has blurred.

Critical state infrastructures—spanning data, defense, space, energy, and finance—are being privatized, creating what the Authoritarian Stack project calls a “technological regime”: power flowing through laws, automated platforms, and infrastructure controlled by private actors.

By analyzing the structures and financial flows behind these actors, the project demonstrates how power is increasingly concentrated in private hands, with potentially profound implications for democratic governance.

These networks are extending their reach into Europe:

US–German tech collaborations: select examples (2025)

• Anduril + Rheinmetall
  Anduril is a U.S. defense tech company specializing in AI-driven autonomous weapons. Partnering with Rheinmetall, they are deploying “European variants” of Barracuda drones and Fury AI aircraft, with software updated remotely from the U.S.
  Risks: In the U.S., Anduril develops AI-driven autonomous weapons that reduce human oversight in critical military decisions, raising accountability concerns. European deployments could replicate these risks, transferring core state functions to private actors.
• Palantir (Gotham) + German intelligence & police
  Palantir develops data analytics platforms used for intelligence, law enforcement, and immigration control.
  Risks: In the U.S., Palantir has been used in predictive policing, immigration enforcement, and mass surveillance—often with minimal democratic oversight. Its adoption in Europe could entrench similar opaque decision-making in sensitive state functions.
• SpaceX Starlink / Starshield
  Starlink is a satellite-based communications network; Starshield provides secure services for governments.
  Risks: In the U.S., Starlink plays a crucial role in national communications, raising concerns about private control over critical infrastructure. Reliance on such networks in Europe could create vulnerabilities and shift power from democratic institutions to corporate control.

These companies exemplify the Authoritarian Stack trend: private actors taking over functions traditionally held by democratic institutions. While already shaping policy and security in the U.S., their partnerships with European companies risk exporting these governance challenges.

It is a paradox with devastating consequences: striving for digital sovereignty while simultaneously relinquishing control with every contract signed.

Each new contract deepens the trap. Once Palantir becomes indispensable, once Anduril’s drones are NATO standard, once nuclear facilities power AI that runs everything else— the transformation is irreversible.