Nagyfejeo, Eva (2016) Transatlantic collaboration in response to cyber crime: how does strategic culture affect EU-U.S. collaboration in the fight against cyber crime? PhD thesis, University of Warwick.

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Abstract

This thesis takes Marieke de Goede’s intriguing hypothesis on counterterrorism as a starting point. She argues that despite the fact that the general strategic cultures of the European Union (EU) and the United States of America (U.S.) look different on the surface, nevertheless the pre-emptive approach, which is often associated with the U.S., is also deeply rooted in European history. Indeed, most authors agree that there has been considerable convergence behind the scenes on transatlantic counterterrorism. Accordingly, this study attempts to establish whether we can draw similar conclusions regarding EU and U.S. behaviour in the realm of cyber security. The main focus is cyber-crime and this is analysed through the lens of strategic culture.

The study examines how far varying attitudes, shaped by strategic culture, hinder the process of cooperation. Moreover, it suggests that an extended version of strategic culture may serve as an alternative tool to aid our understanding of EU and U.S. approaches to fighting cyber-crime, at both strategic and operational levels. Currently, there is no literature on fighting cyber-crime collaboratively employing a strategic culture approach.

This thesis rejects the argument that there is a single, overarching strategic cyber culture that characterises both the U.S. and the EU. However, it offers the following propositions:
1. The presence of several strategic cyber cultures, within both the U.S. and the EU, creates fragmentation in collaboration.
2. Fragmentation is a partial product of various state and sub-state entities that often do not have a clear understanding of their roles in cyber security, which creates overlaps and disparities in power, thereby generating individual and diverse approaches and attitudes to counter cyber-crime.
3. Treating the U.S. government as a ‘monolithic’ entity, especially with regard to cyber-crime policy is a misapprehension. It may be that the growing alignment of U.S. and EU policies originates from the fact that agencies, such as the State Department or DHS, take a decidedly less militaristic approach towards cyberspace, which is a view that aligns more closely with the EU.
4. There is clearly much more convergence in collaboration at the operational level, where there are similar attitudes (U.S. agencies trust each other less than their European counterparts). By contrast, attitudes at the strategic level, together with legal incompatibilities, frequently hinder joint inquiries.

These findings draw heavily upon semi-structured interviews with cyber security officials, politicians, former officials, law enforcement agents and cyber consultants from the private sector. This provides a unique insight into current EU and U.S. security community approaches to the threat of cyber-crime, including their mind-set, strategic behaviour and decision-making procedures.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HV Social pathology. Social and public welfare J Political Science > JA Political science (General)
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Computer crimes -- Prevention., Cyberterrorism -- Prevention -- International cooperation., Cyberspace -- Security measures., National security -- European Union countries., National security -- United States.
Official Date:	September 2016
Dates:	Date Event September 2016 Submitted
Institution:	University of Warwick
Theses Department:	Department of Politics and International Studies
Thesis Type:	PhD
Publication Status:	Unpublished
Supervisor(s)/Advisor:	Aldrich, Richard J. (Richard James),1961- ; Christou, George,|d1973-
Extent:	429 leaves :illustrations.
Language:	eng

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