Seeding the cloud: Consultancy services in the nascent field of cyber capacity building

Abstract

Transnational issues in public administration are charged with coordination problems between public and private actors. This is especially true for nascent issue fields. The mitigation of global cyber risks represents one such emerging issue. International organizations have encouraged the development of cybersecurity strategies as an integral part of national security regimes and to strengthen the global security environment. Cyber capacity building (CCB) efforts respond to these calls and disseminate digital risk management to recipient states. At a time where public administrations have not determined a position on CCB, global professional service firms have affirmed the importance of external third-party knowledge on cybersecurity issues. They are “seeding the cloud” to benefit from the field as it matures. Through the application of the Strategic Action Field framework, I highlight how field dynamics are shaped through framing contests and reflected in the practices of policy production.