Cai Cuihong & Zhang Ruoyang, Complex Intermediate Zone: The Positions and Motivations of the Gulf Arab States in the Cybersecurity Norm Debate, Arab World Studies, No. 3, 2023, pp. 21-43
Abstract With the intensification of strategic competition among major powers and the development of global political multipolarity, the position of the Gulf Arab states in the global cybersecurity governance cannot be ignored. By examining the position of six Gulf Arab states, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, the UAE, Oman and Bahrain in the international cybersecurity norm debate, and their cybersecurity governance practices, this paper finds that the Gulf Arab states have chosen a path of cybersecurity governance that is in line with the interests of the intermediate zone. On the international cybersecurity governance platform, the Gulf Arab states occupy a mixed position between the two camps. At the domestic level, the Gulf Arab states' domestic policies and legal frameworks allow for greater flexibility in the exercise of state power. At the regional level, informal cooperation and sub-national dialogue and coordination mechanisms are becoming the main forms of regional cybersecurity cooperation among Gulf Arab states. Considerations of political security and cultural and social security, the emergence of new forms of regional competition and conflict, the security vulnerabilities and huge demand for cybersecurity generated by economic and digital transformation, as well as the alliance relations at the international level are important factors influencing the position of these Arab countries in the international cybersecurity norm debate.
Key Words Gulf Arab States; Cybersecurity; International Norms
