Cybersecurity between technological determinism, political governance, and national security challenges

Svete, Uroš (author)

The article advances the central thesis that the organization of cybersecurity within a given country is not solely determined by the technical aspects of information and communication technology. Instead, it is profoundly shaped by the relationships among civilian cybersecurity institutions, the intelligence community, military capabilities, and law enforcement agencies, as well as by the country’s political (security) culture, its integration into international organizations, and its perception of threats to national security. The study applies the theories of technological determinism and constructivism while employing a comparative methodology. Furthermore, it explores why significant functional and institutional differences exist among countries that are otherwise very similar in political and administrative structures, despite efforts to harmonize approaches through EU cyber legislation, international technical and political standards, and attempts to establish international law in cyberspace.

• Language: English
• Keywords: cybersecurity, information-communication technology, national security, technicological determinism, institutional overlaping
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: FDV - Faculty of Social Sciences
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2025
• Number of pages: Str. 107-125
• Numbering: Vol. 18, no. 2
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-178030
• UDC: 351.78
• ISSN on article: 1338-1385
• COBISS.SI-ID: 241487107
• Publication date in RUL: 16.01.2026

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Journal of comparative politics
• Publisher: Department of Political Science, Center for Analysis of Administrative-Political Processes and Institutions, Alma Mater Europea-European Centre Maribor (AMEU-ECM)
• ISSN: 1338-1385
• COBISS.SI-ID: 29224285

Licences

• License: CC BY-SA 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
• Description: This Creative Commons license is very similar to the regular Attribution license, but requires the release of all derivative works under this same license.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Title: Kibernetska varnost med tehnološkim determinizmom, političnim vladovanjem in izzivi nacionalne varnost

Abstract

Članek izhaja iz temeljne teze, da organiziranost kibernetske varnosti v posamezni državi ni določena zgolj s tehničnimi vidiki informacijsko-komunikacijske tehnologije, temveč jo oblikujejo kompleksni odnosi med civilnimi institucijami za kibernetsko varnost, obveščevalnimi službami, vojaškimi zmogljivostmi in organi pregona. Poleg tega imajo pomembno vlogo tudi politična in varnostna kultura države, njena vpetost v mednarodne organizacije ter način zaznavanja groženj nacionalni varnosti. Analiza v članku temelji na teoretskih okvirih tehnološkega determinizma in konstruktivizma ter uporablja primerjalno metodologijo. Avtor preučuje razloge za obstoječe funkcionalne in institucionalne razlike med državami, ki so si sicer politično-upravno sorodne in si prizadevajo za uskladitev svojih pristopov prek mehanizmov, kot so evropska zakonodaja o kibernetski varnosti, mednarodni tehnični in politični standardi ter pobude za vzpostavitev mednarodnega pravnega okvira za delovanje v kibernetskem prostoru.

• Keywords: kibernetska varnost, informacijsko-komunikacijska tehnologija, nacionalna varnost, tehnološki determinizem, institucionalni imperializem