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The Impact of Digital Technology on International Relations: The Case of the War between Russia and Ukraine

Summary: 1. Introduction. – 2. New Technologies as a spatial turn and Paradigms of International Relations. – 3. Technology and a New International Distribution of Power. - 4. Role of New Technologies as a driving force in the social construction of war and peace. - 5. The Aspects of New Technologies Involvement in International Relations: The Russian invasion on Ukrainian territories as an example. - 5.1. The absence of a binding legal framework to regulate the activities of the cyber domain. - 5.2. The Russian-Ukrainian war and the emergence of a new type of sanctions at the international level. - 5.3 Conflict and Technology: The emergence of Digital Currency as a challenge to international relations. – 6. Legal gaps in legal frameworks when addressing the impact of digital technologies in international relations – 7. Conclusion.

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Abstract

 Background: The concept of a strong state is no longer measured by its military and economic strength, but also by the level of its ability to both defend against cyber-attacks and control cyberspace. During the Russian invasion of Ukraine, it became clear that modern technology had an active role on the ground. This research focuses on the role of modern technology in conflicts and as a key factor in relations between states.   It has been proven that technology has led to the creation of new concepts in international relations - the concept of technological sanctions, electronic warfare, and so on. This paper will focus deeply on studying the impact of technology on international relations, and its role in war, peace and security.  The researcher uses the Russian-Ukrainian war to support these ideas.  

Methods: In this paper, the researcher used an analytical and structural method to provide an in-depth perspective on the impact of new technology on international relations. Moreover, a case study on the war between Russia and Ukraine were deployed to explain how new technology is heavily involved in international relations. To support the ideas discussed in this paper, the author uses legal texts, international conventions, and official reports issued from national and international institutions.

Result and Conclusion: In this paper, a comprehensive analysis of how IT has affected international relations has been presented. The researcher found that digital technology is considered a new international distribution of power and driving force in the social construction of war and peace. The paper also found that the war between Russia and Ukraine has proven that new technology is widely used in the conflict. The researcher also found that there is a binding legal framework to regulate the activities of the cyber domain. Moreover, new types of sanctions have been emerging internationally. During the conflict, new means of funding and new types of currency have been also been employed, which is considered a new challenge to international relations. The main finding of the paper is that new technology and cyberspace activities cannot be governed locally. The international community should involve  civil actors in the governing and regulatory process of cyberspace.  

About Authors

 Mohamad Albakjaji 

PhD in Law, Assistant Professor at the College of law at Prince Sultan University, Saudi Arabia 

mabkjaji@psu.edu.sa  

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5160-0530?lang=en  

Corresponding author, responsible for writing and research. Competing interests: Any competing interests were declared by the author. Disclaimer: The author declares that his opinion and views expressed in this manuscript are free of any impact of any organizations.

 

Reem Almarzoqi

Legal Researcher, Advisor, Legal Advisor at TAWAL Telecommunication Company, Saudi Arabia

Co-author, responsible for writing and research. Competing interests: Any competing interests were declared by the author. Disclaimer: The author declares that her opinion and views expressed in this manuscript are free of any impact of any organizations, including the TAWAL Telecommunication Company. 

Funding: The authors would like to thank Prince Sultan University for supporting this publication.  Special acknowledgement is given to the Governance and Policy Design Research Lab (GPDRL) at Prince Sultan University (PSU) for their academic support to conduct this research and publish it in a reputable journal.

Translation: The content of this article was translated with the participation of third parties under the authors’ responsibility.

Managing editor – Mg Polina Siedova. English Editor – Lucy Baldwin.

Copyright: © 2023 Mohamad Albakjaji and Reem Almarzoqi. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

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 Мохамад Албакджаджі та Рім Алмарзокі


АНОТАЦІЯ

Передумови. Поняття сильної держави більше не вимірюється лише її

військовою та економічною потужністю, а вимірюється також рівнем її

здатності захищатися від кібератак і водночас контролювати кіберпростір.

Під час російського вторгнення в Україну стало зрозуміло, що сучасні

інформаційні технології відіграють активну роль на місцях. Це дослідження

спрямоване на вивчення ролі сучасних технологій у конфліктах та як

ключового чинника у відносинах між державами. Доведено, що технології

спричинили створення нових концепцій у міжнародних відносинах —

концепції технологічних санкцій, радіоелектронної боротьби тощо. Вивчено

вплив технологій на міжнародні відносини та їхню роль у війні, мирі та

безпеці. На підтвердження цих ідей розглянуто російсько-українську війну.

Методи. У цій роботі застосовано аналітичний і структурний методи, щоб

поглибити погляд на вплив нових технологій на міжнародні відносини. Крім

того, було розгорнуто тематичне дослідження війни між Росією та Україною,

щоб пояснити, як нові технології активно втягуються в міжнародні

відносини. Для підтримки ідей, які обговорюються в цій статті, використано

юридичні тексти, міжнародні конвенції та офіційні звіти національних і

міжнародних установ.


Результат і висновок. У дослідженні представлено комплексний аналіз того,

як ІТ вплинули на міжнародні відносини. Виявлено, що цифрові технології

вважаються новим міжнародним розподілом влади та рушійною силою в

соціальному конструюванні війни і миру. Також виявлено, що війна між

Росією та Україною довела, що в конфлікті широко використовуються нові

технології. Встановлено, що існує обов’язкова правова база для регулювання

діяльності кібердомену, а крім того, на міжнародному рівні з’являються нові

види санкцій. Під час конфлікту також використовуються нові способи

фінансування та види валют, що вважається новим викликом для

міжнародних відносин. Основний висновок статті полягає в тому, що нові

технології та діяльність у кіберпросторі не можуть регулюватися локально.

Міжнародна спільнота має залучати громадянських акторів до процесів

управління та регулювання кіберпростору.

Keywords

  • New Technology, International Relations, War, Russia, Ukraine

Publication history

  •  Submitted on 12 Feb 2023 / Revised 04 March 2023 / Approved 06 March 2023 Published Online 22 Mar 2023 // Last Published: 15 May 2023

How to cite it?

  •  Mohamad Albakjaji, Reem Almarzoqi ‘The Impact of Digital Technology on International Relations: The Case of the War between Russia and Ukraine’ 2023 2 (19) Access to Justice in Eastern Europe 8-24. https://doi.org/10.33327/AJEE-18-6.2-a000203