(Geo)politicizing International Law of Cyberspace in Post-Soviet Eurasia

By Liliya Khasanova and Artur Simonyan (Khasanova is a Visiting Scholar at the Fletcher Russia and Eurasia Program)

Abstract

Great powers often (geo)politicize legal norms, principles, and discourses to advance a particular vision of cyberspace regulation within specific geopolitical contexts. This paper explores Russian efforts to shape a distinct vision of the international law of cyberspace in the post-Soviet Eurasian region. To evaluate regional integration in cyberspace governance, we examine normative practices in the Commonwealth of Independent States, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the Collective Security Treaty Organization, and the Eurasian Economic Union, along with the State practices of post-Soviet countries in various multilateral frameworks. We conclude that although Russia has not established a fully functional Eurasian international cyberspace law in the post-Soviet region, it has influenced the regional States to align with its strategic choices on cyberspace regulation. This influence could be seen as laying the groundwork for an emerging regional legal order governing cyberspace.

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(This post is republished from Oxford Academic.)