Cyberpeace: Why Internet Governance Matters for Global Peace and Stability

While the governance of the Internet is often assumed to be merely a technical matter, it is actually a fiercely contested political arena, in which institutional arrangements are still being shaped. This paper aims to demonstrate how, and why, the politics surrounding Internet governance are of significance for international peace and stability. The Internet has great potential as a facilitator of the peacebuilding process, but it can also be used as a tool of oppression, a channel for disinformation and propaganda, and even as a means of waging war. The institutions that are built around Internet governance will determine in whose hands ultimate control of the network will lie, and will ultimately decide whether the Internet is to be a vehicle of human liberation and peacebuilding, or a tool of oppression and conflict. To accomplish the latter, there is a need to move away from traditional state‐based assumptions around global governance and security.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/pech.12373