In a new journal article for International Affairs, REMIT researcher James Shires (Virtual Routes) together with Bassant Hassib analyze the contribution of cybersecurity and internet infrastructure to the rapprochement between the UAE and Israel.
Taking stock of the digital track of UAE-Israel diplomacy, James Shires, Co-Director of Virtual Routes, notes that the 2020 Abraham Accords normalized these relations between Israel and the UAE put heavy emphasis on digital technologies. “Yet, International Relations theories of recognition hardly consider the role digital technologies play in establishing recognition between states. In this article, we explore the influence of digital technologies in this landmark shift in UAE–Israel recognition.”
Abstract
This article uses three aspects of digital technologies in the UAE–Israel case—cybersecurity cooperation, cloud computing, and subsea cables—to inductively develop three propositions regarding the role of digital technologies in state recognition. First, states use digital technologies—and private sector companies that own and operate them—as diplomatic lubrication: a means to navigate around and overcome difficult diplomatic relationships, building momentum towards recognition. Second, digital competition between states leads them to conform their national economic structures towards global technology companies in similar ways, thereby recognizing each other as equal participants in a global market—which we term market-oriented homogenization. Third, states involved in transnational internet infrastructure projects together develop technical working practices, interests, and dependencies that facilitate diplomatic recognition—which we term infrastructural integration. Building on these three propositions, we put forward an overall concept of ‘digital recognition’ to capture their common theme: the influence of digital technologies, their owners or their operators on state recognition.
Full Citation
Bassant Hassib and James Shires, “Digital recognition: cybersecurity and internet infrastructure in UAE–Israel diplomacy,” International Affairs, Volume 100, Issue 6, November 2024, 2399–2418, https://doi.org/10.1093/ia/iiae233.