Sinikukka Saari1; Flavia Lucenti2; 1 Finnish Institute of International Affairs, Finland; 2 LUISS, Italy
Discussion
Russia has put considerable resources into systematic international promotion of its interpretation of cyber security norms in particular since the 2010s. It has engaged in variety of cyber dialogues within different multilateral settings and signed bilateral treaties with several countries and regional organisations. This article studies the drivers, goals and ways of Russia’s cyber diplomacy in multilateral settings – in particular within the CSTO and the United Nations. It argues that Russia’s cyber norm promotion reflects its great power ambition, its desire to mould the global order into a more supportive of its networked authoritarianism and its desire to diminish liberal norms internationally. Russia’s cyber security norms put a considerable emphasis on content control and state security which allow more room for its networked authoritarianism. The article assesses that Russian cyber diplomacy has been rather successful within the CSTO and the UN. Furthermore, Russia’s wide use of illegal cyber tools internationally and its war of aggression against Ukraine seems to be diminishing Russia’s influence on cyber norms within CSTO but not significantly within the UN structures. This can be explained by Russia’s different norm promotion strategies and ambition levels within different multilateral settings.
