Cybernorms

As states, intergovernmental organizations, and commercial actors have amassed staggering amounts of digital information and moved critical operations online, new frontiers of vulnerability and insecurity have rapidly emerged on a global scale. These developments are at the forefront of geopolitics and increasingly occupy a prominent position in high-level international peace and security processes.  

The field currently raises more questions than it answers: What rules apply in cyberspace? Does the internet have a “core” that is public and international? What is the nature of power exercised by multinational corporations in the elaboration and application of cybernorms? 

Decisions about the rules that govern state and non-state behavior in cyberspace bear a direct relationship to equally pivotal efforts to enhance human development and transnational solidarity through an open, safe, and free internet. The future position of human and peoples’ rights in an emerging body of international law applicable to behavior in cyberspace hinges on how current debates are structured, engaged and informed.