The Politics Of Cyberspace

Addressing the problems surrounding cyber security and cyberspace, this book bridges the gap between the technical and political worlds to increase our understanding of this major security concern in our IT-dependent society, and the risks it presents. Only by establishing a sound technical understanding of what is and is not possible can a properly informed discussion take place, and political visions toward cyberspace accurately map and predict the future of cyber security. Combining research from the technical world that creates cyberspace with that of the political world, which seeks to understand the consequences and uses of cyberspace, Steed analyses and explains the circumstances that have led to current situations whereby IT-dependent societies are vulnerable to, and regularly victims of, hacking, terrorism, espionage, and cyberwar. Two fundamental questions are considered throughout the book: what circumstances led to this state of affairs? And what solutions exist for the future of cyberspace? In tackling these questions, Steed also analyses the emergent and increasingly competing political positions on offer to stabilise the landscape of cyberspace. This interdisciplinary work will appeal to researchers and students of Security Studies, Intelligence Studies, Strategic Studies and International Relations as well as cybersecurity practitioners charged with developing policy options.

The Politics of Cyberspace provides an overview of the impact of the world wide web on the political process. Chris Toulouse organizes the articles according to their theoretical approach--those who take up Habermas's concern with civil society and those who take up the postmodern critique of popular culture. The book covers key issues such as the potential for electronic democracy, the use of the web by mainstream political parties, challenges to the First Amendment, inequalities of access, and new understanding of gender. It also calls for progressive intellectuals to embrace the Internet in their political struggles.

This is the first complete introduction to and analysis of the politics of the internet. Key concepts included are: power and cyberspace; the virtual individual; society in cyberspace, and imagination and the internet.

An urgently needed examination of the current cyber revolution that draws on case studies to develop conceptual frameworks for understanding its effects on international order The cyber revolution is the revolution of our time. The rapid expansion of cyberspace brings both promise and peril. It promotes new modes of political interaction, but it also disrupts interstate dealings and empowers non-state actors who may instigate diplomatic and military crises. Despite significant experience with cyber phenomena, the conceptual apparatus to analyze, understand, and address their effects on international order remains primitive. Here, Lucas Kello adapts and applies international relations theory to create new ways of thinking about cyber strategy. Kello draws on a broad range of case studies, including the Estonian crisis, the Olympic Games operation against Iran, and the cyber attack against Sony Pictures. Synthesizing qualitative data from government documents, forensic reports of major incidents and interviews with senior officials from around the globe, this important work establishes new conceptual benchmarks to help security experts adapt strategy and policy to the unprecedented challenges of our times.

This book is about the politics of cyberspace. It shows that cyberspace is no mere virtual reality but a rich geography of practices and power relations. Using concepts and methods derived from the work of Michel Foucault, Jeremy Crampton explores the construction of digital subjectivity, web identity and authenticity, as well as the nature and consequences of the digital divide between the connected and those abandoned in limbo. He demonstrates that it is by processes of mapping that we understand cyberspace and in doing so delineates the critical role maps play in constructing cyberspace as an object of knowledge. Maps, he argues, shape political thinking about cyberspace, and he deploys in-depth case studies of crime mapping, security and geo-surveillance to show how we map ourselves onto cyberspace, inexorably and indelibly. Clearly argued and vigorously written this book offers a powerful reinterpretation of cyberspace, politics, and contemporary life.

New Media Politics: Rethinking Activism and National Security in Cyberspace explores many of the questions surrounding the new challenges that have arisen as a result of the emergence of cyberspace, including cyber-activism, cyberterrorism, and cyber-security. The chapters in this volume provide case studies that span an array of geographies as they debate questions regarding conceptual issues in cyberspace and the relationship between politics, cyberterrorism and cyber-activism, as well as state and international regulations concerning cyberspace, resistance movements in cyberspace, and media frameworks concerning terrorism, civil liberties, and government restrictions. This collection will provide a venue for discussions on the diverse issues surrounding the theme of new media politics from international and interdisciplinary perspectives. The volume is divided into two parts, the first of which focuses on how cyberspace has been used in activism, acts of resistance and protests. The second part investigates issues related to how online media is used in terrorism and how governments have sometimes perceived cyberspace as a threat, leading at times to regulations which threaten to curtail liberties in the name of protecting the “security” of the state against enemies that may be seen as “internal” or “external.”

This book examines new and challenging political aspects of cyber security and presents it as an issue defined by socio-technological uncertainty and political fragmentation. Structured along two broad themes and providing empirical examples for how socio-technical changes and political responses interact, the first part of the book looks at the current use of cyber space in conflictual settings, while the second focuses on political responses by state and non-state actors in an environment defined by uncertainties. Within this, it highlights four key debates that encapsulate the complexities and paradoxes of cyber security politics from a Western perspective – how much political influence states can achieve via cyber operations and what context factors condition the (limited) strategic utility of such operations; the role of emerging digital technologies and how the dynamics of the tech innovation process reinforce the fragmentation of the governance space; how states attempt to uphold stability in cyberspace and, more generally, in their strategic relations; and how the shared responsibility of state, economy, and society for cyber security continues to be re-negotiated in an increasingly trans-sectoral and transnational governance space. This book will be of much interest to students of cyber security, global governance, technology studies, and international relations. The Open Access version of this book, available at www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.

In the last decade, the proliferation of billions of new Internet-enabled devices and users has significantly expanded concerns about cybersecurity. But should we believe the prophets of cyber war or worry about online government surveillance? Are such security concerns real, exaggerated or just poorly understood? In this comprehensive text, Damien Van Puyvelde and Aaron F. Brantly provide a cutting-edge introduction to the key concepts, controversies and policy debates in cybersecurity. Exploring the interactions of individuals, groups and states in cyberspace, and the integrated security risks to which these give rise, they examine cyberspace as a complex socio-technical-economic domain that fosters both great potential and peril. Structured around ten chapters, the book explores the complexities and challenges of cybersecurity using case studies – from the Morris Worm and Titan Rain to BlackEnergy and the Cyber Caliphate – to highlight the evolution of attacks that can exploit and damage individual systems and critical infrastructures. With questions for group discussion and suggestions for further reading throughout, Cybersecurity will be essential reading for anyone interested in understanding the challenges and opportunities presented by the continued expansion of cyberspace.