By Abagail Lawson
Originally published in The CyFy Journal, Observer Research Foundation
Malicious state action in cyberspace continues to increase, even as states reached a consensus on the norms for responsible behaviour through the UN Open-ended Working Group (OEWG) and Group of Governmental Experts (GGE) processes in 2021. Violations by states as well as continued uncertainty about how the agreed norms are meant to be implemented threaten to undermine the legitimacy and utility of the normative approach and cyber stability. These dynamics are fuelled by competing visions for the future of cyberspace, with some states seeking to assert an authoritarian version of state sovereignty in the domain, while others envision an open, interconnected future. This paper focuses on the current moment in the UN processes as part of an effort to manage conflict in cyberspace. It begins by describing the status quo in the domain, and then analyses three main elements of the UN discussions in light of concepts from conflict resolution literature to understand how the consensus reached in the OEWG and GGE can contribute to managing conflict in cyberspace, and where a fractured approach can be useful.