Cybersecurity, Sovereignty, and U.S. Foreign Policy.

In the 1990s, many premised that the advent of the information age would lead to the demise of the nation-state through the erosion of state power and, as a result, state sovereignty. Moreover, the Internet and a space many today call “cyber” would enable the emergence of the sovereign citizen, free of the political, economic, and security demands of the all-powerful state. Yet, such predictions not only didnottranspire—they became the poster child of the old adage “be careful what you wish for” in today's age of global terrorism and sophisticated organized criminal activity. Certainly cyberspace has empowered individuals around the world, for both good and bad. Yet, it has also given states a new domain or environment in which to expand their power and in which to compete with one another. State sovereignty, while far from undermined, today boasts a more porous character reminiscent of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, when states were certainly the most powerful actors on the international stage but not the only actors with influence. Through its three core sessions, the 2014 Roundtable explores many of these dynamics and interplays, highlighting pending policy dilemmas or putting forward a series of recommendations about the future direction of U.S. foreign policy and strategy in this area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]