Wielding the double edged sword in the cyber domain – The utility of internet securitisation in countering Islamic State cyberjihad
Year: 2017
Type: dissertation
Abstract: ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The astronomical success and ubiquity of the Internet has resulted in the manifestation of new interdependencies and vulnerabilities in the international system. Widespread access and the decentralised structure of its architectural framework has reduced barriers to participation, meaning the cyber-domain exhibits an even landscape that has served to empower non-state actors. Security threats online have created new challenges to the international community, as the multiplicity of actors and dispersed technical infrastructure of the Internet mandates transnational responses and cooperation amongst states, as well as public-private collaboration. Pronounced integration of the Internet into all facets of life has led it to being deemed a critical infrastructure, and the assertion that ensuring its safety is essential so as to preserve the security and economic interests of the nation state. Following its unprecedented success in 2014, the jihadist organisation Islamic State (IS) has supplanted al Qaeda as the greatest contemporary terrorist threat. IS has been unparalleled in its accomplishments, securing substantial territories in Iraq and Syria and rallying thousands to join its cause. Much of IS’s notoriety and appeal has been attributed to its capacity to unleash an online propaganda campaign and amass phenomenal support from the global populace, that has yet to be realised by any other terrorist groups. Recent developments in the fight against IS demonstrate that the group’s prospects for maintaining its Caliphate are tenuous at best, as global efforts have resulted in military setbacks and significant loss of territory. However, this study argues that military efforts will not suffice, as greater integration of the Internet into IS operational strategies has meant the group has been able to adopt a horizontal organisational structure that will allow it to continue the global jihad and ensure its ideology survives. This study applies the Copenhagen School’s Securitisation Theory to the single case study of IS and cyberjihad in an effort to explore how securitisation can serve to allow for more effective countermeasures to be adopted in efforts to prevent terrorist exploitation of the Internet. The main research question informing this study seeks to determine the utility of Internet securitisation in efforts that seek to mitigate the threat of IS and cyberjihad. The primary research question is supplemented by the three sub-questions that aim to determine; (1) how cyberjihadists have sought to exploit the Internet; (2) what measures have been taken to counter cyberjihad and to what degree have these measures proven successful; and (3) what the disadvantages and benefits of securitisation of the Internet are, in terms of the international security context. Findings suggest that the uptake of extraordinary measures, validated through a successful securitisation, will provide the facilitating conditions necessary for greater transnational and public-private cooperation and the additional resources required to develop more salient strategic communication measures in the battle of ideas.
Author: Nikita Hiralal
Language: English
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2725240274