Cooperação em segurança e defesa cibernética e a proteção das democracias sul-americanas

Abstract

The last decade has shown the global society, especially South American society, the great challenges that democracies will face in the 21st century. Among the various threats observed in cyberspace are the so-called disinformation campaigns and hybrid interference. As a result, this new digital means of information socialization has caused serious damage to the democratic pillars of states, as disinformation and false information have become a feature of political debate. Based on this, the article seeks to analyze how South American countries are building cooperation in cybersecurity and cyber defense between 2012 and 2020, and what the implications are for the protection of democracy and the rule of law. It is argued that, due to the transnational dynamics of the digital world and the wide reach of its actions and consequences, the search for a solution to these demands goes through a process of deepening state cooperation, in which the foreign policy strategies of states are fundamental for building an effective response to this type of threat to democracy at the international level. From this perspective, we understand the interdependence between States in this sphere and adopt a cooperative conception to reflect on the obstacles South American countries face.