Publication

This paper looks at how states use the metaphor of 'cyber war' (and what it implies) to spread their regulatory authority and power over the Internet. The authors first clarify what they mean by metaphor and narrative as theoretical concepts and look at how the state has managed to apply statehood to the Internet. They then analyze how particular states, such as Estonia, Hungary and Germany, have used the 'cyber war' metaphor. They argue that by shifting the existing discourse away from the possibilities of communication offered by the Internet to the risks and vulnerabilities associated with it, states attempt to prove their indispensability as a protector and perpetuate the norm of sovereign statehood.