EXPLAINING THE ABSENCE OF CYBERWAR BETWEEN DEMOCRACIES: A DEMOCRATIC PEACE THEORY PERSPECTIVE

Authors

  • Yavuz AKDAĞ

Keywords:

Stuxnet, Cyberspace, Cyberwar, Democratic Peace Theory

Abstract

Cyberwar defies the traditional concepts, such as sovereignty and war, but little attention was paid to it by International Relations (IR) theory. Most studies lacked an analytical indepthness and systematicity. While some scholars recently began to systematically apply the IR theory of realism and constructivism to cyberspace, IR scholars significantly ignored the neo-liberal theories, especially Democratic Peace Theory (DPT). Thus, I intent to fill this theory-gap by offering a systematic and in-depth analysis using the DPT to explore how effectively it can explain the absence of cyberwar between democracies. I argue that despite the observed incidences of cyberwar indicating the presence of peaceful cyber relations between democracies, this peaceful trend is unlikely to be a result of “democratic peace”, for the dynamics of cyberwar challenges the pacifying elements of normative and structural model of the theory, thus hampering its effective cyber applicability. I used primary and
secondary sources and draw on a case study—Stuxnet-, demonstrative empirical data, and theoretical and conceptual discussions in the relevant literature.

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Published

2019-06-30

How to Cite

AKDAĞ, Y. (2019). EXPLAINING THE ABSENCE OF CYBERWAR BETWEEN DEMOCRACIES: A DEMOCRATIC PEACE THEORY PERSPECTIVE. Cyberpolitik Journal, 4(7), 2-22. Retrieved from http://cyberpolitikjournal.org/index.php/main/article/view/25

Issue

Section

Research Articles