Trust, interdependence, and power in cyber statecraft
53 Pages Posted: 4 Nov 2024
Date Written: July 30, 2024
Abstract
To meet strategic objectives, nation-states rely on private actors to develop, exercise and restrict the use of offensive and defensive cyber capabilities. This article introduces a conceptual framework to discuss trust within cyberspace as an information system, and its impact on coercive power in state-state and state-private relations. Contrasting Chinese and Western cyber ecosystems reveals that leveraging domestic political economy is key in projecting national cyber power, but cyberspace itself may suffer adverse structural outcomes of increased information asymmetries, lower trust, and potential fragmentation.
Keywords: china cyber, trust, interdependence, cyber power, cyber political economy, internet fragmentation, cyber conflict, power stability
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