Research Article

CONQUEST OVER CYBERSPACE: AN UNLIMITED SOVEREIGNTY?

Volume: 18 Number: 1 March 1, 2021
TR EN

CONQUEST OVER CYBERSPACE: AN UNLIMITED SOVEREIGNTY?

Abstract

Sovereignty, by definition, is the exercise of the supreme power of the state inside and outside its territory, in case of extraterritoriality. The word 'sovereignty’ since the Middle Ages, was used to refer to the power of the sovereign, who was overall; the king, prince, or emperor. However, between the 1950s and 1980s, a new kind of space dubbed cyberspace emerged. This virtual territory engaged more personalities than any other space. Over time, it became imperative for States to include this newly gained space under their control. Conquering this virtual sovereignty given its potentials, politically speaking, equals the right move. From a legal perspective, Law as a social science that studies the mechanisms and contents of the rules through which humans regulate their lives in a community, cannot be alien to this 'network of networks' that connects each sub-community and brings them together in a genuine universal community. The sovereign equality as a principle under the Charter of the United Nations is an ultimate rule governing modern international relations and valid in all spaces of interstate exchanges. It is imperative for this principle and its essence to be applied to cyberspace because cyberspace is now the right place for diplomacies. However, to achieve this kind of applicability, cyberspace needs to have a clear international law position, which it does not have by the time. The absence of determining factors such as time and distance within cyberspace strengthens the multiple occurrences of cyber-attacks and the possibility of cyber warfare. Its opacity allows the return of direct modes of action whose acceptance thresholds are lower than conventional military operations. It allows an inexpensive return of the asymmetric or hybrid offensive, by reducing the power differences between different players, or even in addition to conventional military actions, while allowing its author to hide their identities to avoid cyber attributions. How far would states go to protect their cyber territory? Are there any limitations to this conquest? In this paper, a comparison between sovereignty in the traditional approach and virtual sovereignty, scholarly discussions on these types of sovereignties, as well as the analogy to apply existing rules of international law to cyberspace, will be established.

Keywords

References

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Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

Law in Context

Journal Section

Research Article

Publication Date

March 1, 2021

Submission Date

October 9, 2020

Acceptance Date

January 14, 2021

Published in Issue

Year 2021 Volume: 18 Number: 1

APA
Kabano, J. (2021). CONQUEST OVER CYBERSPACE: AN UNLIMITED SOVEREIGNTY? Yeditepe Üniversitesi Hukuk Fakültesi Dergisi, 18(1), 117-139. https://izlik.org/JA24AU27YS
AMA
1.Kabano J. CONQUEST OVER CYBERSPACE: AN UNLIMITED SOVEREIGNTY? YÜHFD. 2021;18(1):117-139. https://izlik.org/JA24AU27YS
Chicago
Kabano, Jacques. 2021. “CONQUEST OVER CYBERSPACE: AN UNLIMITED SOVEREIGNTY?”. Yeditepe Üniversitesi Hukuk Fakültesi Dergisi 18 (1): 117-39. https://izlik.org/JA24AU27YS.
EndNote
Kabano J (March 1, 2021) CONQUEST OVER CYBERSPACE: AN UNLIMITED SOVEREIGNTY? Yeditepe Üniversitesi Hukuk Fakültesi Dergisi 18 1 117–139.
IEEE
[1]J. Kabano, “CONQUEST OVER CYBERSPACE: AN UNLIMITED SOVEREIGNTY?”, YÜHFD, vol. 18, no. 1, pp. 117–139, Mar. 2021, [Online]. Available: https://izlik.org/JA24AU27YS
ISNAD
Kabano, Jacques. “CONQUEST OVER CYBERSPACE: AN UNLIMITED SOVEREIGNTY?”. Yeditepe Üniversitesi Hukuk Fakültesi Dergisi 18/1 (March 1, 2021): 117-139. https://izlik.org/JA24AU27YS.
JAMA
1.Kabano J. CONQUEST OVER CYBERSPACE: AN UNLIMITED SOVEREIGNTY? YÜHFD. 2021;18:117–139.
MLA
Kabano, Jacques. “CONQUEST OVER CYBERSPACE: AN UNLIMITED SOVEREIGNTY?”. Yeditepe Üniversitesi Hukuk Fakültesi Dergisi, vol. 18, no. 1, Mar. 2021, pp. 117-39, https://izlik.org/JA24AU27YS.
Vancouver
1.Jacques Kabano. CONQUEST OVER CYBERSPACE: AN UNLIMITED SOVEREIGNTY? YÜHFD [Internet]. 2021 Mar. 1;18(1):117-39. Available from: https://izlik.org/JA24AU27YS