The role of "cyber" in the international system

IN AN ever increasingly connected world the role of "cyber" has taken on a new level of importance. Its place, and by extension its function in society has, however, become something of a debate in its own right.

For the purposes here we can distinguish between online and cyber. We are not talking about buying things or streaming movies. We are instead looking at the connectivity which "cyber" has provided in the arena of global governance and whether this has removed or created boundaries.

While it may have an effect on the debate it is also unnecessary here to discuss the concerns raised by some experts in the field, including "father of the Internet" Vint Cerf, that changing technologies may lead to the loss of vast stores of data and information, other than to say that if this were to happen its impact on global information distribution, and particularly its importance in the promotion of emerging economies, may have long term unforeseen implications. Such a loss, and with it the associated loss of production possibility and sustainability for developing countries, would likely cause severe between country instability and destabilise portions of the international system. 

Before this becomes a global doomsday prophecy it is worth clarifying that such an impact would likely be mitigated by the gradual nature of the information loss and the ability of states and large multinationals to update their technologies gradually thereby mitigating such loss.

We are brought back therefore to "cyber" as an increased form of connectivity and what impact this can have on the international system.

There are those who view the increased communications abilities provided as a risk to global security and the international system as a whole. For some states the risks have been judged as too high and as such they have attempted to impose stringent controls on their populaces ability to access such resources. A similar debate occurred however when the printing press was first used and when Gutenburg's bible was produced. The debate now will end in the same outcome, as has already been demonstrated by the means by which some activists have circumvented government controls to spread information via social networking sites and the "dark web".

For network theorists the enhanced role of "cyber" has provided a way for "bottom up" change to take place as transnational advocacy networks can communicate more effectively and thereby put increased pressure on states to take action on a range of topics.

This same mechanism however has also given criminal entities and terror networks the same advantage leading to a spread of ideologies and increased ability for global recruitment. No longer is Walter Lacquer's view of terror groups as small, contained entities, viable in the new "cyber" world.

The impact of TANs is, by their very nature, limited by the will of the states they are attempting to change. For those using "cyber" to destabilise civil society they are equally limited by the ways in which states will respond, as seen by removal of internet capabilities.

"Cyber" therefore means as much now as the printing press did then. It is a tool which has not yet seen its potential. That potential however is limited by the will of the international system, which despite the best wishes of the network theorists is still ruled by the sovereignty of states and a realist perspective.