Cyber Security Meets Security Politics: Complex Technology, Fragmented Politics, and Networked Science

The article studies, and attempts to situate, the political evolution of cyber security by “identifying and discussing six drivers” from various fields (i.e. technology, politics, science) and three “clusters of research.” These research trends influence how we approach cybersecurity, as something “objectively measurable” and isolated or as “discourse or practice.” Authors Dunn Cavelty and Wenger then turn to the future of cyber security political research – writing with the assumption that any future direction will be dictated by an interplay between technological possibilities, political choices, and scientific practices – and suggest developments in multiple arenas. These include: (a) That continued innovation will require updated governance mechanisms, (b) cyberspace will be increasingly involved with space-based, AI, and quantum computing technologies, and (c) actors will control escalation via international cooperation/organizations. The authors conclude by outlining key challenges for future research, including institutional barriers and the need for integrated theoretical knowledge and research traditions.