TY - JOUR
T1 - The pervasive informality of the international cybersecurity regime: Geopolitics, non-state actors and diplomacy
AU - Sukumar, Arun
AU - Broeders, Dennis
AU - Kello, Monica
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
Funding Information:
This research, and all of the activities of the Hague Program on International Cyber Security, are funded by a grant from the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
PY - 2024/1/3
Y1 - 2024/1/3
N2 - The international cybersecurity regime typifies the rise of informality in modern global governance. Despite the increase in sophisticated cyber operations globally, states do not embrace formal multilateral cooperation to prevent and mitigate them. What explains the preference for informal governance in international cybersecurity, and why have non-binding agreements around “responsible behaviour” proliferated in this domain? In introducing a special issue that highlights various dimensions of informal international cybersecurity governance, this article analyses two major factors that deepen informality: multipolar geopolitics, which has made formal cooperation difficult, and the rise of non-state actors, whose technical standards not only emerge as de facto governance standards, but who have also engaged in cyber diplomacy through informal channels. Drawing on recent scholarship that explains the emergence of informality in global governance, the article calls for greater attention to be paid to the substantive outcomes of informal institutions to understand their stickiness in regimes.
AB - The international cybersecurity regime typifies the rise of informality in modern global governance. Despite the increase in sophisticated cyber operations globally, states do not embrace formal multilateral cooperation to prevent and mitigate them. What explains the preference for informal governance in international cybersecurity, and why have non-binding agreements around “responsible behaviour” proliferated in this domain? In introducing a special issue that highlights various dimensions of informal international cybersecurity governance, this article analyses two major factors that deepen informality: multipolar geopolitics, which has made formal cooperation difficult, and the rise of non-state actors, whose technical standards not only emerge as de facto governance standards, but who have also engaged in cyber diplomacy through informal channels. Drawing on recent scholarship that explains the emergence of informality in global governance, the article calls for greater attention to be paid to the substantive outcomes of informal institutions to understand their stickiness in regimes.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85181238933&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/13523260.2023.2296739
DO - 10.1080/13523260.2023.2296739
M3 - Article
SN - 1352-3260
VL - 45
SP - 7
EP - 44
JO - Contemporary Security Policy
JF - Contemporary Security Policy
IS - 1
ER -