Cyberspace is not considered a defined area or space like air, land, sea, or outer space. Its indeterminate nature has led to a fragmented landscape of cyber sovereignty, making it challenging to establish effective global regulation under international law. Cyberspace has given leverage to the ‘Decentralised, Distributed and Privatised’ war capabilities of nations. Differences in regulating cyberspace result in techno-nationalism, where countries consider technological and scientific development critical for national security. The nature of international security has been greatly shaped by the evolution of warfare, providing state and non-state actors to carry out their cyber activities. Given the vulnerabilities of cyberspace, countries apply the concept of sovereignty to achieve their political goal under the umbrella of data privacy or censorship.
Cyber sovereignty, in simple terms, is the control of cyberspace and the dissemination of information within a country’s sovereign territory. Political scientist Thomas Rid highlights that cybersecurity is collectively formed by three activities—intelligence collection, sabotage, and subversion. Countries establish cyber sovereignty by regulating the flow of data or information, surveillance, and foreign intelligence collection to enhance national security while shaping the narratives within their boundaries.
