In the context of globalisation and privatisation, an emerging body of literature has applied the concept of an 'assemblage' to international relations and security studies. This article will argue that an assemblage framework provides the best means for understanding the complex configuration of cyber security actors, given that contemporary cyber security practices do not conform to the traditional public-private and global-local distinctions used in security studies and International Relations literature. With the configuration of cyber security actors, and the relationships between them in constant flux, an assemblage framework provides a means for understanding the contested, dynamic and diachronic nature of contemporary cyber security provision. While the concept of security assemblages is favoured in this article, the process and context in which the term has traditionally been used cannot be blindly imposed on the issue of cyber security. This article will therefore propose a different model of how cyber security assemblages have developed and explain the implications this has on contemporary security dynamics.
This paper compares the cyber crisis management strategies of Estonia and the United Kingdom-two leading nations in the field of cyber security. The two countries' strategies differ significantly. The most important variables influencing these differences are history, size (both demographic and material resources), political philosophy, digital dependence, and the nature of the threats and adversaries each country faces in the cyber domain. Given the importance of these factors in determining Estonia's and the United Kingdom's cyber crisis strategies, it is difficult to draw from these two cases any generalisable recommendations that apply to other states; rather, the main significance of this study is another: it draws attention to the important role that political, historical, and cultural variables play in the definition of a nation's cyber crisis strategy-and, consequently, the need to fit specific policy approaches within the bounds set by these factors. The paper seeks to demonstrate that while cyberattacks may be highly technical in nature, organisational responses to them have crucial political and social determinants that may supersede the significance of technical factors.
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