Work

Identity, cyber-sovereignty, and Ukraine: Towards an ontological security theory of cyberwarfare

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: In 2022, Ukraine centralised its social, economic, and kinetic resources to counter the Russian invasion. Yet, in cyberspace, it mustered an anonymous, volunteer, unregulated IT Army and relocated critical data to private servers abroad, decentralising its cyber-response and ceding its sovereignty, which in war tends to be consolidated by the state, to non-state actors instead. Drawing on ontological security (OS) theory, I argue that these measures were shaped more by Ukraine’s pursuit of a stable identity than concern for practical expediency. They have helped Ukraine secure its democratic self-image by affirming its preference for decentralised self-governed non-state agency, its affinity with the West, distinctiveness from Russia, and its capacity for being a role model to others. The findings challenge the existing literature by demonstrating that states may prioritise the preservation of their identity over cyber-sovereignty and that non-state cyber-actors can provide OS for the state and its subjects rather than disrupt it.

Source: The British Journal of Politics and International Relations

DOI: 10.1177/13691481251383306

Author: Roman Kolodii

Institution: Charles University

Language: English

Topic: Cybersecurity and Cyber Warfare Studies

Subfield: Political Science and International Relations

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Peace, justice, and strong institutions

Open Access status: bronze

Funder: Univerzita Karlova v Praze