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

Suggested Citation

Datta, Ahana, Trust, interdependence, and power in cyber statecraft  (July 30, 2024). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4999418 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4999418

Ahana Datta (Contact Author)

University College London ( email )

Gower Street
London, WC1E 6BT
United Kingdom

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