Power and Security in the Information Age: Investigating the Role of the State in Cyberspace

The transnational architecture of global information networks has made territorial borders less significant. Boundaries between spaces are becoming blurred in the evolving information age and the distribution of power is increasingly volatile and complex. As such, the importance of information and knowledge is forcing a new look at the main actors in international relations.With the advent of the internet, new and diverse actors have entered the stage and the speed with which these new actors can work to collect, produce and disseminate information, has increased. Decentralized soft power structures have gained in importance and the state's monopoly on authority has become fragmented. The plethora of non-governmental organizations, social movements and transnational non-state networks are now competing with states for influence.While it is increasingly apparent that the dynamic integration of technologies into a multimedia system of communication is having a profound influence on the international system, there is far less consensus about the theoretical and practical implications. This volume addresses this void and should be required reading for those interested in gaining insight into the evolving role of global information networks.