Whither cyberpower?

Since World War II, control over land, sea, air and space has been essential to projecting national power. During the past two decades, the domain of cyberspace has emerged; it is the new frontier for wielding the four instruments of power - diplomacy, information, military and economics. The pervasiveness of cyberspace supports near instantaneous action in all the domains of human power - land, sea, air, space and cyberspace. Could cyberspace be the one domain to rule them all? This paper draws on recognized theories of power in the physical world to create a lens for projecting and analyzing the future of cyberpower and cyber powers, helping clarify the nature of cyberspace and the entities that interact in cyberspace. The paper considers nation-states as well as non-state actors, and examines how they might operate, evolve and wield power in cyberspace. Also, it discusses power scenarios that may emerge in the cyberspace of the future. (c) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.