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hegemons to use that weak point and attack their cyber and network infrastructure, resulting in
destruction and compromising the integrity of their military information.

Such strategic advantage can place cyber offense capability at the top of the military agenda for
weaker states. Also the stronger states should consider their vulnerable information infrastructure
as a major national security threat trying to develop complex defensive systems to fight against
such breaches of security.

If a state chooses to invest in developing a strong team of offensive cyber warriors or invest in
developing technologically advanced systems to have offensive capability, this will consequently
undermine the cyber security of others. The asymmetric and surprising nature of cyber attacks
makes it harder for the defender to detect and deter attacks. Another important implication of the
security dilemma lies in the defensive aspect of cyber warfare. In a kinetic (conventional) war the
effect of a bomb is equal, independent of the “development status” of the state it is dropped on.
However cyber capability by nature provides an asymmetric balance of vulnerability in the defensive
perspective. Stronger states are more vulnerable in an anarchic system.

Another distinguishing characteristic that cyber warfare presents in the context of strategic studies
and security dilemma is the fact that it is harder to qualify and quantify the cyber capabilities of your
adversaries, unlike the conventional war that you can verify their military basis and their physical
assets (i.e. bombs, warheads, tanks and artillery). This provides a major strategic advantage for
weaker states because such covert development of cyber capability does not raise flag for their
stronger adversaries to build up militarily against them.

Considering all these theoretical perspectives in the context of “Realism” it is clear that cyber war
capability provides a substantial strategic advantage to the weaker state in an anarchic world of
rational actors trying to shift the balance of power in their favor. Realism is a sound framework
addressing the viability of developing offensive capability for state actors, especially weaker states
against their adversaries.

Idealism

Idealism argues that the effectiveness of a rising hegemon’s strategic warfare capability is not
strongly affected by cyber warfare. Idealism relies on globalization and the effect of technology on
global system of economic and political interaction. Idealism also claims that cyber warfare by
nature does not impose major security threats on the state, since without the effect of kinetic
warfare capability the result cannot be devastating enough to be considered a serious national
threat.

The information revolution, the creation of cyberspace, and high technology’s impact on
globalization are often cited in support of idealist arguments that emphasize the role of
technologies, such as the Internet, in enabling democratic movements, globalizing financial
markets, and sustaining international organizations. On the other side of the spectrum from realism,
idealism argues that inherent borderless nature of the internet and the fact that it has been the pillar
of globalization qualifies it to be a medium that has created cooperation in the international system.
36 Cyber Warnings E-Magazine – February 2015 Edition
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