For well over twenty years, we have witnessed an intriguing debate about the nature of cyberspace. Used for everything from communication to commerce, it has transformed the way individuals and societies live. But how has it impacted the sovereignty of states? An initial wave of scholars argued that it had dramatically diminished centralised control by states, helped by a tidal wave of globalisation and freedom. These libertarian claims were considerable. More recently, a new wave of writing has argued that states have begun to recover control in cyberspace, focusing on either the police work of authoritarian regimes or the revelations of Edward Snowden. Both claims were wide of the mark. By contrast, this article argues that we have often misunderstood the materiality of cyberspace and its consequences for control. It not only challenges the libertarian narrative of freedom, it suggests that the anarchic imaginary of the Internet as a ‘Wild West’ was deliberately promoted by states in order to distract from the reality. The Internet, like previous forms of electronic connectivity, consists mostly of a physical infrastructure located in specific geographies and jurisdictions. Rather than circumscribing sovereignty, it has offered centralised authority new ways of conducting statecraft. Indeed, the Internet, high-speed computing, and voice recognition were all the result of security research by a single information hegemon and therefore it has always been in control.

中文翻译：

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总是在控制？网络空间中的主权国家

二十多年来，我们目睹了一场关于网络空间性质的有趣辩论。它用于从通信到商业的方方面面，改变了个人和社会的生活方式。但它是如何影响国家主权的呢？最初的一波学者认为，在全球化和自由浪潮的帮助下，它大大削弱了国家的集中控制。这些自由主义者的主张是相当可观的。最近，新一波的文章认为，国家已经开始恢复对网络空间的控制，重点关注威权政权的警察工作或爱德华·斯诺登的揭露。这两种说法都大相径庭。相比之下，本文认为我们经常误解网络空间的重要性及其对控制的影响。它不仅挑战了自由主义的自由叙事，还暗示了互联网作为“狂野西部”的无政府主义想象是国家故意宣传的，目的是分散人们对现实的注意力。与以前的电子连接形式一样，互联网主要由位于特定地理区域和司法管辖区的物理基础设施组成。它没有限制主权，而是为中央集权机构提供了执行治国之道的新方法。的确，互联网、高速计算、语音识别都是单一信息霸主的安全研究成果，因此始终处于掌控之中。与以前的电子连接形式一样，它主要由位于特定地理和司法管辖区的物理基础设施组成。它没有限制主权，而是为中央集权机构提供了执行治国之道的新方法。的确，互联网、高速计算、语音识别都是单一信息霸主的安全研究成果，因此始终处于掌控之中。与以前的电子连接形式一样，它主要由位于特定地理和司法管辖区的物理基础设施组成。它没有限制主权，而是为中央集权机构提供了执行治国之道的新方法。的确，互联网、高速计算、语音识别都是单一信息霸主的安全研究成果，因此始终处于掌控之中。