Governing the ungovernable: international relations, transnational cybercrime law, and the post-Westphalian regulatory state
Nicola Dalla Guarda · Transnational Legal Theory · 2015
In order to better understand the challenges facing transnational criminal law, the paper considers six regional anti-cybercrime regimes and traces their development and content. Insights from international relations theory and practical issues inherent in their implementation are then expounded and broader trends are discerned. These observations are linked to illustrate the ways in which modern nation states have shifted their traditional functions of ‘security provider’ or ‘sovereignty generator’ onto the transnational realm. Thereafter, the paper makes some tentative predictions regarding future attempts at transnational regulation. A number of conclusions are drawn. While a global tapestry of ‘transnational cybercrime law’ has been created, the differences and similarities between regimes can be attributed to the various legal and political arrangements amongst their signatories. Moreover, the regulatory challenges faced by these regimes demonstrate how Westphalian-based sovereign states are redeploying traditional legal and political paradigms to address novel transnational threats to a global man-made ecosystem. Finally, these trends suggest a continuation of current patterns of transnational regulation, despite the author’s call for a change in approach to transnational cybercrime law.