Digital Connectivity and Cybersecurity Shaping Major Power Relations in the 21st Century
Faculty Mentor
Dalia Fahmy
Major/Area of Research
Political Science, International Relations
Description
INTRODUCTION: International relations are increasingly shaped by digital connectivity, which underpins the global digital economy, transnational ideologies, and evolving communication networks, making cybersecurity central to state security, sovereignty, and economic prosperity.
METHOD: This study analyzes major power relations among the United States, China, and the European Union through the lenses of military, business, and civilian cybersecurity, as well as digital development assistance and emerging internet governance norms.
RESULTS: The findings demonstrate that domestic stability and foreign policy across these actors are closely tied to digital sovereignty as shaped by Information and Communications Technologies (ICT). While the United States and the European Union have strengthened cybersecurity policies across civilian and military domains, political instability in the United States has contributed to a divergence in transatlantic approaches toward China, with the EU adopting a comparatively softer stance, coinciding with a shift in the global power balance in China’s favor. China’s leadership in digital connectivity, particularly as it pertains to ICT hardware and software, through Digital Development Assistance as a major component of the Silk Road Initiative in Africa has facilitated the spread of authoritarian internet governance norms and contributed to the emergence of a fragmented, “balkanized” internet with far reaching implications for political expression and global communication.
DISCUSSION/CONCLUSION: China’s digital infrastructure presence in Africa and the Middle East raises concerns about compromised networks among U.S. allies, reduced military interoperability, and heightened cybersecurity risks across civilian, commercial, and defense sectors, including vulnerabilities to intelligence exploitation, intellectual property theft, hybrid warfare, and the transnational spread of extremist ideologies through insecure digital platforms. Chinese Smart City initiatives in several African states play a significant role in shaping the emerging security equation. Furthermore, the ongoing Chinese “Salt Typhoon” operation exposes the misshapen United States posture in relation to cybersecurity.
Digital Connectivity and Cybersecurity Shaping Major Power Relations in the 21st Century
INTRODUCTION: International relations are increasingly shaped by digital connectivity, which underpins the global digital economy, transnational ideologies, and evolving communication networks, making cybersecurity central to state security, sovereignty, and economic prosperity.
METHOD: This study analyzes major power relations among the United States, China, and the European Union through the lenses of military, business, and civilian cybersecurity, as well as digital development assistance and emerging internet governance norms.
RESULTS: The findings demonstrate that domestic stability and foreign policy across these actors are closely tied to digital sovereignty as shaped by Information and Communications Technologies (ICT). While the United States and the European Union have strengthened cybersecurity policies across civilian and military domains, political instability in the United States has contributed to a divergence in transatlantic approaches toward China, with the EU adopting a comparatively softer stance, coinciding with a shift in the global power balance in China’s favor. China’s leadership in digital connectivity, particularly as it pertains to ICT hardware and software, through Digital Development Assistance as a major component of the Silk Road Initiative in Africa has facilitated the spread of authoritarian internet governance norms and contributed to the emergence of a fragmented, “balkanized” internet with far reaching implications for political expression and global communication.
DISCUSSION/CONCLUSION: China’s digital infrastructure presence in Africa and the Middle East raises concerns about compromised networks among U.S. allies, reduced military interoperability, and heightened cybersecurity risks across civilian, commercial, and defense sectors, including vulnerabilities to intelligence exploitation, intellectual property theft, hybrid warfare, and the transnational spread of extremist ideologies through insecure digital platforms. Chinese Smart City initiatives in several African states play a significant role in shaping the emerging security equation. Furthermore, the ongoing Chinese “Salt Typhoon” operation exposes the misshapen United States posture in relation to cybersecurity.