The Illusion of Sovereignty: How International Law and Big Tech are Eroding the State
Modern state sovereignty is in crisis due to international law and technological dependence on private corporations, which can limit a state's ability to respond to cyber operations. The current legal doctrine allows aggressor states to conduct destructive cyber operations below the threshold of recognition, threatening a state's survival.
State sovereignty is being eroded by international law and dependence on private tech corporations. During Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the authors experienced firsthand how loss of access to critical digital infrastructure can be catastrophic. The 'Gerasimov Doctrine' describes Russia's strategy of conducting low-level cyber operations below the threshold of armed attack, creating a gray zone between peace and war. Global corporations like Google and Microsoft have become autonomous geopolitical actors, controlling critical infrastructure and cloud computing. The current legal doctrine recognizes a cyber incident as a cyberattack only if its consequences resemble those of a kinetic strike, creating an asymmetry that revisionist powers can exploit. This allows aggressor states to conduct destructive cyber operations with relative impunity, while allied states are constrained by international law and institutional obligations.
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