Governing New Frontiers in the Information Age
Toward Cyber Peace

The frontiers are the future of humanity. Peacefully and sustainably managing them is critical to both security and prosperity in the twenty-first century.

Scott J. Shackelford (Author)

9781108448109, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 30 June 2022

519 pages, 18 b/w illus. 12 tables
22.9 x 15.2 x 2.7 cm, 0.689 kg

'… the author extends the polycentric theory of governance to non-traditional areas: space, the oceans, cybersecurity, and climate change … innovative book …' J. A. Stever, Choice

Many pressing environmental and security threats now facing the international community may be traced to the frontiers. From climate change and cyber-attacks to the associated challenges of space weaponization and orbital debris mitigation, solutions to all of these issues have at their root some form of regulation over the 'global commons'. Yet governance over these spaces is now transitioning away from multilateral treaties to regional and bilateral accords. This book makes an original contribution by comparing and contrasting some of the principal issues facing the frontiers. It analyzes how and why existing governance structures are often failing to adequately meet global collective action problems, with special coverage on cybersecurity and Internet governance. It proposes a new way forward incorporating lessons from successful regimes as well as the interdisciplinary scholarship on polycentric governance, arguing that multi-stakeholder collaboration is imperative in order to avoid tragedies of the global commons.

Part I. Cyber-What? Understanding the Roots of Cybersecurity and Other Collective Action Problems in the Information Age: 1. Governance at the frontiers of international relations: definitions and assumptions
2. Managing cyber attacks as a global collective action problem
Part II. Security and Environmental Threats Facing the Frontiers: Case Studies in Commons Management and Their Application to Cybersecurity and Internet Governance: 3. On climate change and cyber attacks: leveraging polycentric governance to help heal the planet and promote cyber peace
4. Was Selden right? The expansion of closed seas and its consequences
5. Governing the final frontier: a polycentric approach for managing space weaponization and debris
Part III. Governing New Frontiers in the Information Age: 6. The future of frontiers.

Subject Areas: E-commerce law [LNCB2], Law [L], International relations [JPS]