Norm Entrepreneurship in Global Cybersecurity

Abstract

New technologies create new challenges for global security that leave even the most militarily powerful countries vulnerable to attack. Countries are gearing up for electronic warfare and, in this realm, the old rules of international conflict either do not apply or have not been developed. Governments have yet to find stable policy solutions to match potential cyber threats. The challenge then is to establish new global norms concerning acceptable behavior in cyberspace. This article analyzes the attempts to construct global cybersecurity norms. It differs from much of the existing literature on norm‐construction since it moves beyond the interstate level to examine subnational groups and private sector actors that function as norm entrepreneurs in this policy area. The article posits that while nation states remain central, nonstate actors are playing an increasingly important role in cybersecurity norm‐building, supplementing state action, and, to some degree, compensating for state inaction when cooperation reaches an impasse.Related ArticlesGlen, Carol M. 2014. “Internet Governance: Territorializing Cyberspace?” Politics & Policy 42 (5): 635‐657. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12093Hellmeier, Sebastian. 2016. “The Dictator's Digital Toolkit: Explaining Variation in Internet Filtering in Authoritarian Regimes.” Politics & Policy 44 (6): 1158‐1191. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12189Zeng, Jinghan, Tim Stevens, and Yaru Chen. 2017. “China's Solution to Global Cyber Governance: Unpacking the Domestic Discourse of ‘Internet Sovereignty.’” Politics & Policy 45 (3): 432‐464. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12202