Cyberspace and the Use of Force [Paperback]

Walter G. Sharp Sr. (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0967032601 | ISBN-13: 978-0967032603 | Publication Date: February 1, 1999

Cyberspace and the Use of Force focuses specifically on one of the most challenging, contentious, and important issues in international law; how to determine what constitutes a use of force between states in CyberSpace under the contemporary international law paradigm of conflict management defined by the Charter of the United Nations. This text provides a detailed analysis of existing international law and state practice that reveals which state activities in CyberSpace may constitute a use of force and an armed attack that invokes a state's right to use force in self-defense. Though referenced in detail for lawyers, this text provides the necessary legal background to make it a useful desk reference for government officials, military operators, students, and others who are interested in the application of international law in CyberSpace.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This important treatise on the application of law to new technology examines which peacetime state activities within the information highway constitute an unlawful threat or use of force, and then examines the circumstances under which states have the right to use force in response. ... Sharp posits that computer espionage, computer network attacks, as well as the subversion of political, economic, and/or non-military information bearing on a nation's capabilities and vulnerabilities may well constitute a use of force in cyberspace under traditional international law principles. ... The primary focus of this text, therefore, is to examine the two threshold issues of (1) which peacetime interstate activities within the telecommunications highway constitute a threat or use of force under the international law of conflict management, and (2) when does such a threat constitute an attack under the international law of conflict management such that a right to use force in self-defense exists. ... This volume is a welcome addition to the literature and will be considered a valued resource of every serious international practitioner." -- Judge Jim Terry, Department of Interior, Colonel, USMC Retired, in 9 Duke Journal Of Comparative & International Law

From the Author

The lawfulness of the use of force by states against one another is one of the most challenging, contentious, and important issues in international law. With the advent of computers and the Internet, technology has made this issue even more elusive and complex. Issues that involve the use of force in CyberSpace, however, can be, and should be, initially viewed simply as an application of existing international law. Only until the international community fully understands the application of existing international law, and therefore the gaps that may exist in that law, should it move forward with attempts to further regulate activities in CyberSpace.

At any given time during the growth of a new technology, the law - particularly international law - is rarely comprehensive. Legal advisers must apply existing law to the new technology. When treaty law fails to look prospectively, state practice slowly defines the boundaries of what is lawful. This book specifically examines which peacetime state activities in CyberSpace constitute an unlawful threat or use of force and when states have the right to use force in self-defense in response to an unlawful threat or use of force that constitutes an armed attack.

This analysis applies the existing international law paradigm that governs the use of force to rapidly advancing technologies which permit states to manipulate computers and computer dependent systems in ways that were not foreseen ten years ago. It is hoped that this will serve as a useful introduction and a starting point for the analysis of all use of force issues under international law, and specifically, all use of force issues that arise in CyberSpace. Although this book is intended to be a comprehensive overview of all use of force issues, any such attempt in such a short text will undoubtedly omit countless possible references, supporting arguments, counter arguments, and nuances that could have been made in a longer treatise. Where I believe the law is settled, I make the point concisely and move on. Where there is disagreement among jurists, I provide a summary of the major views, and then explain what I believe to be the better approach and why.

The issue of when a state may lawfully use force against another state is very important, and warrants a thorough discussion in isolation. Accordingly, this book only analyzes in detail the use of force by a state against another state or states without Security Council Chapter VII authority. Although explained very briefly in Chapter 1, this book does not address in any detail the use of force by a state against terrorists, organized criminals, and other nonstate actors; the broader issue of how the peacetime regime of international law, other than the law of conflict management, may restrict state activities in CyberSpace; the application of the law of armed conflict to the use of force in CyberSpace once hostilities have commenced; the effect of United States domestic and foreign law on state activities in CyberSpace; or the effect of Security Council Chapter VII authorization on the lawfulness of state activities in CyberSpace.

Though referenced in detail for lawyers, this text provides the legal background to make it a useful desk reference for government officials, military operators, students, and others who are interested in the application of international law in CyberSpace. The first five chapters will provide the legal and factual foundation necessary to a full understanding of the core analysis of the book found in Chapters 6 and 7. The final chapter will extract from previous discussions of the entire book those guiding principles that form the basis for analyzing all use of force issues.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 234 pages
• Publisher: Ageis Research Corp (February 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0967032601
• ISBN-13: 978-0967032603
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,256,003 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Cyberspace & the Use of Force: A critique, November 20, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Cyberspace and the Use of Force (Paperback)

Walter Sharp produces one of the first coherent works on Information Warfare (IW), or at least those portions of IW that operate solely through the technological medium of Cyberspace. While the book is designed to persuade that force applied through Cyberspace has a legal foundation, it also provides a layman's introduction to the topic and the reasons why the conduct of military affairs in this new medium has been hotly debated for almost ten years. This is not a book for a general reader, but rather one concerned with new military technology applications.

4.0 out of 5 stars Cyberspace & the Use of Force: A critique, November 20, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Cyberspace and the Use of Force (Paperback)

Walter Sharp produces one of the first coherent works on Information Warfare (IW), or at least those portions of IW that operate solely through the technological medium of Cyberspace. While the book is designed to persuade that force applied through Cyberspace has a legal foundation, it also provides a layman's introduction to the topic and the reasons why the conduct of military affairs in this new medium has been hotly debated for almost ten years. This is not a book for a general reader, but rather one concerned with new military technology applications.