Cyber Sovereignty

Some economic actors misunderstand the term “cyber sovereignty” as a form of autonomy in cyberspace. This Trend Analysis argues that using the term “cyber sovereignty” in the same way as “autonomy” is a misnomer. To do this, the analysis explores the definition and the use of the term “cyber sovereignty”. It examines national cybersecurity strategies to see how states use the term. The results show that, with the exception of France, states rarely refer to this concept. This is due to the French bottom-up approach to sovereignty. The Trend Analysis looks then at the academic debate on cyber sovereignty and finds that it focuses on the applicability of principles of sovereignty in cyberspace. Finally, the research examines the debate on sovereignty in other domains: sea, air, and space. This showed that each domain went through discussions on the applicability of sovereignty, before the normalization of practices in international treaties.