ABSTRACT

For nearly thirty years scholars have offered changing definitions of cyberwar. The continued ambiguity demonstrates that efforts at establishing definitional clarity have not been successful. As a result, there are many different and contradictory definitions, ranging from cyberwar’s non-existence to cyberwar as an imminent threat. Ongoing definitional ambiguity makes interdisciplinary research and policy communications challenging in this diverse field. Instead of offering a new definition, this paper proposes that cyberwar can be understood through a fluid framework anchored in three themes and five variables identified in a broad interdisciplinary survey of literature. This framework's applicability is demonstrated by constructing an example definition of cyberwar utilising these themes and variables.

摘要

近 30 年来，学者们对网络战的定义不断变化。持续的模棱两可表明建立定义清晰度的努力并未成功。因此，出现了许多不同且相互矛盾的定义，从不存在网络战争到作为迫在眉睫的威胁的网络战争。持续的定义模糊使得跨学科研究和政策交流在这个多样化的领域具有挑战性。本文没有提供新的定义，而是提出可以通过一个流动的框架来理解网络战争，该框架以三个主题和五个变量为基础，这些框架在广泛的跨学科文献调查中确定。该框架的适用性通过利用这些主题和变量构建网络战的示例定义来证明。