Cyber Power and the International System

This dissertation is comprised of three separate papers that address how cyber power contributes to national power and the implications for international security posed by cyber operations. The first paper, “Cyber Power and International Stability: Assessing Deterrence and Escalation in Cyberspace,” posits that there are unique attributes that define the cyber domain and that have direct implications on deterrence and escalation dynamics between state actors. The second paper, “Arms Control and Confidence Building Measures for the Cyber Domain,” explores at various mechanisms that states have traditionally used to foster stability and prevent inadvertent conflict and assesses their applicability to controlling cyber operations. Finally, “The Logic of Coercion in Cyberspace” delves into the role of cyber operations as both inadvertent and deliberate signals and assesses their utility as a coercive instrument of statecraft.