Researcher ORCID Identifier

0009-0005-9556-1701

Graduation Year

2024

Date of Submission

12-2023

Document Type

Campus Only Senior Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Department

International Relations

Reader 1

Minxin Pei

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© 2023 Caroline F Kim

Abstract

As the world progresses towards a new digital age of widespread internet connectivity and information technology, a new wave of geopolitics has emerged. No longer bound by traditional forms of diplomacy with “government to government negotiations,” modern International Relations has seen a breakthrough from digitalization. Cyberspace has fostered informal dialogue, instant networking, and political transparency in international affairs; However, it has also brought along a string of challenges from weaponization for the purpose of misinformation, censorship, and exploitation in times of conflict.

I explore in this paper the use of cyberspace for information warfare in international conflict. Particularly, I analyze its role in evolving orthodox warfare by deterritorializing diplomacy, increasing the number of actors, and serving as borderless breeding ground for psychological tactics. This paper uses a two-part methodology which first delves into the uses of information technology and then examines the efficacy of digital instruments. It follows two modern case studies, the Russia-Ukraine and China-Taiwan Conflict, to analyze the impact of cyberspace in hybrid warfare. The paper questions: how is information technology used to gain a powerful advantage and attend to political and military objectives, and what is the complementarity between information warfare and kinetic instruments?

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