The Conventional Notion of Sovereignty and the Post-modern Sovereignty in Cyberspace: New Type of ‘Westphalian Model’ Envisaged (2022.02)
- Author : Doo-Jin Kim
- Publication : Journal of Korean Politics
- Publisher : The Institute for Political Studies
- Volume : 31(1)
- Date : February, 2022
Abstract: This article examines the conceptual debate over cyber-sovereignty to real-world geopolitical domains over the governance of the internet. The cyber-sovereignty debate is linked to IR research on the historical emergence of sovereignty. Today, the concept of cyber sovereignty is being deployed in a number of political and economic areas, form authoritarian countries to liberal democracies. China has championed the idea of ‘cyber sovereignty’, while the U.S. and its allies have long curtailed the spread of cyber sovereignty. Growing state power over the internet and non-state actor’s commitment to cyberspace have led to assertion that cyberspace is, or should be, reverting to a Westphalian model. This study argues that attempts to apply sovereignty to cyberspace governance are inappropriate to the domain. How long the post-modern Cyber Westphalia transition will take is likely to be unknown.