I&J contributed

Published on
July 8, 2016

Geopolitics of Cyber in Asia

Internet & Jurisdiction’s director, Bertrand de La Chapelle, contributed to a workshop titled Geopolitics of Cyber in Asia on July 7, 2016. The event was organized by the Castex Chair of Cyberstrategy in partnership with the East-West Institute.

The panel that Mr. La Chapelle spoke on concerned the application of state sovereignty in cyberspace. Referencing the rise of cyber threats, the Snowden revelations, trade competition, and the jurisdictional conflicts facing platforms and other international operators, panelists were invited to discuss the challenges that the Internet poses to traditional Westphalian models of international relations.

Specific to Asia, elements of national identity and concerns about domestic stability were referenced in the discussion of digital sovereignty. In response, Mr. La Chapelle explained the pressing need to for multistakeholder processes to develop trust between actors and enable cooperation across regions, promoting legal interoperability and discourage unilateral assertions of national sovereignty online. More information about digital sovereignty and its extraterritorial effects can be found in the I&J Paper, Jurisdiction on the Internet: From Legal Arms Race to Transnational Cooperation.