Great power narratives on the challenges of cyber norm building

Abstract

States, companies and civil society actors broadly agree that ICT misuse needs to be prevented through effective international policies and regulatory efforts. However, corresponding norm-building processes have been repeatedly characterized by setbacks and controversies regarding interpretations. Whenever such a situation has arisen, state representatives quickly engaged in intense storytelling, accusing their counterparts of seeking to impose “the law of the jungle” or of following hidden policy agendas at the UN. This paper focusses on the stories state representatives use to explain the international community’s recurrent failures, such as arms races, crisis escalations or destructive criminal acts. Using narrative concepts and methods, the analysis explores the dynamics of this emerging transnational public diplomacy, focusing on Russia and the United States in particular. Beyond comparing main structural elements of each narrative, the goal is to elucidate legitimization strategies and dilemmas, resulting in several policy implications. For example, United States representatives and allies need to make specific and concise references to UN cyber norms during public attributions, lest they could play into the hands of a counter-narrative of Western domination and hypocrisy.