From Global Village to Virtual Battlespace: The Colonizing of the Internet and the Extension of Realpolitik

The internet has important implications in international relations, an area we term cyberpolitics. The lens you choose to look at the internet through, whether it be liberal, utopian, or realist, can greatly impact your conception of its advantages and disadvantages. The information and telecommunication potentials of cyberspace can be harnessed for good or wielded as a dangerous weapon by citizens of the internet (netizens). Cyberspace will play a role in future conflicts and wars especially with non-state actors such as terrorist groups, which China, Russia, and the United States have recognized and begun preparing for. Territory and sovereignty become less defined as the internet shrinks the globe and connects users. This report works to explore the lenses to visualize cyberspace, which will help us to understand and foresee economic, political, and social activities and conditions. The implications on cybersecurity are new and challenging problems that governance institutions must deal with.