Geopolitics is the study of integration and effect of earth geography and physical outlay on the political structures, and international relations and reforms that affect the same at different levels. Its provisions for studying policies and foreign relations are generally used to imply the various concepts that form the multiple aspects scopes for politics and geographical variables. Cyber operations have emerged as a more significant component of regional conflict and great power rivalry in recent years. Adverse false information campaigns have wreaked havoc on democratic systems, withheld information, and state-sponsored hackers and cybercriminals have stolen state secrets (Guiora, 2017). As a result, the risks to global stability have increased even further.
Theory and practice are necessary to understand geopolitics. The former necessitates international law, international relations, finance, geography, military power, and limitations. It requires an understanding of domestic and global politics and the importance of tactical and strategic issues when applying these distinct disciplines. However, despite the appearance of conflict, influential national leaders can find common ground. Some of the problems affect the geopolitical existence and balance on the state and international level (Khraisat & Alazab, p. 12). Since the cyber domain has low barriers to entry for developing and using cyber capabilities, there are multiple and severe cooperation issues as a result. Conventions on cyberethics would be enforced by both state and private actors alike.
The state’s actions and behavior are opaque. It is challenging to differentiate between descriptive and actual standards and to assess the breadth and depth of conformance by relevant actors in the latter category. Creating a clear definition of cyberspace regulations complicates already-existing efforts and measures. Sharing intelligence with those who require it is critical as part of an overall international security strategy.
There is little cooperation between major powers in the current geopolitical context to effectively address this global public policy issue (Johnson, 2015). It affects the process of decision-making and whether to treat problems that arise from improper cyber activities as immediate or long-term. At large, this leads to escalations in issues such as nuclear power use since countries carry out cyberattacks and propaganda against each other (Johnson, 2015). Uncertainty over whether or not to adopt and integrate one or more cyber norms acts as a limitation, and the possible implications constitute a significant obstacle. It makes it complicated to affect an approach that allows for the integration of standards to dictate the use of cyberspace across the international stage.
Additionally, there is the act of self-defense from states or countries who think their systems have been infiltrated or rights encroached. Even the Bible reaffirms the need for self-defense, “When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own mansion, his property is safe.” (King James Bible, 2017, Luke 11:21). As a result, it creates an even complex state where effects on infrastructure have adverse effects, including loss of lives and political escalations. All of the participating countries must develop a global security plan.
To sum up, countries have been accusing each other of hacking and leaking military secrets in recent years as geopolitics and cybercrime has become increasingly relevant. Thus, countries compete online to outdo each other in retaliation attacks. The result is that cyberspace has been weaponized by developed nations and is ready to attack. International cyber coordination and the stability of the global digital economy could benefit from some ideas. In the current state of affairs, there is no universally established body working to improve international cooperation in combating cybercrime and no precise mechanism for developing solid beliefs and good cyberspace behavior among countries. Malicious actors can use the internet as they please without fear of repercussion.
References
Guiora, A. N. (2017). Cybersecurity: Geopolitics, law, and policy. Routledge.
Johnson, T. A. (Ed.). (2015). Cyber-security: Protecting critical infrastructures from cyber attack and cyber warfare.
Khraisat, A., & Alazab, A. (2021). A critical review of intrusion detection systems in the internet of things: techniques, deployment strategy, validation strategy, attacks, public datasets, and challenges.Cybersecurity, 4(1), 1-27.
King James Bible. (2017). King James Bible Online.