Cyberspace as a Non-Territorial Virtual Space: Unraveling the Conundrum of State Sovereignty in the Cyberspace as a New-Domain

Cyberspace has grown and altered many facets of human life during the course of last three-decades. Governments, organisations, and general public have all greatly utilised the potential that cyberspace offers. The established political, social, and economic systems of the international order have been put to test by the internet. Parallel to these unprecedented changes, the rise of cyberspace has posed significant risks to both individual(s) and societal security. Key national infrastructure is vulnerable to cyberattacks, cybercrime and cyber-espionage endangers the world economy; whereas hackers intimidate people. Armed forces, terrorist organisations, and even “lone-individuals” now have all the potential to wage cyberattacks against vital infrastructure as well as military networks. All of this, raises the critical question of whether or not, is it possible for individual states to regulate cyberspace as a non-territorial virtual space? This Reflection Article, builds upon this critical question and, undertakes a “global-commons” approach for tackling the contemporary security challenges in the cyberspace!