Wired yet Disconnected: The Governance of International Cyber Relations
| Author | Chelsey Slack |
| Date | 01 February 2016 |
| Published date | 01 February 2016 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/1758-5899.12268 |
Wired yet Disconnected: The Governance of
International Cyber Relations
Chelsey Slack
North Atlantic Treaty Organization
Abstract
Shaping an international consensus for the digital age is the current challenge. The nature of cyberspace complicates efforts
to govern it, notably due to its asymmetrical, anonymous and dual-use characteristics. Such intricacies are compounded by
the fact that the global cyber landscape varies significantly in terms of technologies, capabilities and strategies. Despite the
complex nature of cyberspace, existing international legal regimes are adequate. International law is applicable to cyberspace;
it is rather a question of sorting out the specificities of how it is to be applied. Based on a normative approach, the focus
should be placed on further constructing and connecting those existing political and strategic frameworks for the effective
governance of international ‘cyber’relations.
Policy Implications
•Cyber-security should be cultivated as a national and foreign policy priority.
•The debate surrounding cyber-security should be calibrated, recognizing the various military, political, economic and cul-
tural dimensions and focusing on those areas where practical cooperation can build up confidence among states.
•A focus should be placed on ‘minilateralism’in international ‘cyber’relations to reach consensus through regional arrange-
ments or groups of like-minded states and to build momentum around certain principles with a view to reaching broader
agreement among the international community.
The Internet is the first thing that humanity has
built that humanity does not understand, the lar-
gest experiment in anarchy that we have ever had.
Eric Schmidt, Executive Chairman, Google
The governance of cyberspace resembles the technology
that the domain is built upon –a network. The nature of
cyberspace complicates efforts to govern it, notably due to
its asymmetrical, anonymous and dual-use characteristics.
Such intricacies are compounded by the fact that the global
cyber landscape varies significantly in terms of technologies,
capabilities and strategies.
Despite the complex nature of cyberspace, this paper will
assert that existing international legal regimes are adequate.
International law is applicable to cyberspace; it is rather a
question of sorting out the specificities of how it is to be
applied. In effect, the focus should be placed on further
developing and connecting the current political and strategic
frameworks. Put simply, it is about getting the right attitudes
and architectures in place to harness the potential that con-
nectivity brings while mitigating the inherent vulnerabilities.
This paper will briefly examine the nature of cyberspace
and provide a short account that situates the debate on the
current legal landscape. The development of normative
frameworks –notably norms of behaviour and confidence-
building measures (CBMs) –will in turn be explored. Finally,
a conclusion will reflect upon three concrete policy recom-
mendations to reduce current uncertainty and facilitate the
development of norms, thereby enhancing the governance
of cyberspace. These include: the role of the state in culti-
vating cyber-security as both national and foreign policy pri-
orities; the importance of calibrating the cyber-security
debate; and, the need for ‘minilateralism’in international
‘cyber’relations to ensure that words and wires are con-
nected in cyberspace with the ultimate goal of shaping an
international consensus for the digital age.
Applied methodology includes research from secondary
sources as well as materials gathered from several primary
source documents, such as national and international strate-
gies. To clarify scope, this paper represents a survey of exist-
ing literature. It does not represent a comprehensive legal
analysis, but rather focuses on the high level principles per-
taining to conflict in cyberspace with a view to informing
detailed policy aspects of governance in cyberspace more
widely. Furthermore, this paper will not address aspects per-
taining to Internet governance and its related entities and
processes.
International law in cyberspace: behind keyboards
and computer screens
To define the realm of what this paper intends to address, it
is important to begin with a definition –that of cyberspace.
Global Policy (2016) 7:1 doi: 10.1111/1758-5899.12268 ©2016 University of Durham and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Global Policy Volume 7 . Issue 1 . February 2016 69
Special Section Article
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