Cyberwarfare research methods

Abstract

Cyber conflict and cyberwarfare have emerged as central components of International Relations and security studies research, with states exercising power in and through cyberspace to augment existing instruments of statecraft such as warfare. In this chapter, we advance a call to arms and articulate a vision of building a diverse array of theoretically sound and empirically driven research on issues of statecraft as it applies to cyberspace. We begin by analysing several less-than-ideal conditions that characterize cyber conflict scholarship before mapping the various content areas and methods of inquiry that can revitalize this emerging field and restore a semblance of scientific rigour. We conclude by offering a vision of policy-relevant cyberwarfare scholarship that meets the early promise of the field.