The fourth session of the Virtual Routes Colloquium Winter/Spring series hosts André Barrinha from University of Bath.

In the last two decades, states have grasped the importance of cyberspace as a strategic environment. Much academic work has analysed the concrete dimensions of state cyber activities, such as offensive cyber operations, the development of cyber commands, and the emergence of cyber diplomacy. However, the literature has no adequate conceptual systematisation to fully grasp the plethora of options, actions and practices that states employ for strategic purposes in this environment. Indeed, this leads to a diminished conceptual toolbox for academia and policy. This paper addresses this issue by proposing a research agenda centred on the concept of cyber statecraft as the array of state-led attempts to ultimately achieve goals in the cyber strategic environment through interaction with other actors. It provides three main contributions to this literature. First, it offers a precise and comprehensive definition of cyber statecraft, distinguishing the concept from related terms. Second, it constructs a conceptual model that enhances the study of cyber statecraft through ‘repertoires’—the actions of actors and their knowledge of execution—within the strategic realm of cyberspace. Lastly, it sets out a research agenda that invites methodological and theoretical diversity.

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