Foreword

This issue was first conceived as an examination of the impact of technological innovation on international affairs. In the wake of the Iranian “Twitter Revolution” and the creation of a U.S. Cyber Command, it became clear that innovations in network technology were significant enough to be our sole focus. The substance of international relations—the manifold daily interactions, some cooperative, some conflictive among societies and states—are increasingly played out in a connected cyberspace. This development increasingly holds the potential to alter the dynamic of power within and among states.

It also presents policymakers with a host of new and complex challenges. On one level, individual societies are still grappling with the question of how to accommodate networks in their national lives. At the same time, how any individual society approaches the Internet has immediate foreign policy implications given the interconnectedness of today’s world. In short, the rapid advance of technological innovation in the cyber realm has created a demand for equal innovation in the policy realm. This issue explores the policy implications of this remarkable technological milieu, shedding light on both the threats and opportunities of international relations in cyberspace.

The issue begins with an article by Alec Ross that articulates the U.S. State Department’s drive, under Secretary Clinton, to put Internet freedom at the forefront of U.S. foreign policy. The piece echoes a major speech on the topic by the Secretary early in 2010, whose implications reverberate throughout these pages. In Security versus Freedom on the Internet Marvin Ammori and Keira Poellet, explore a fundamental tension. Min Jiang presents a comprehensive perspective on Internet policy in China, a country that fervently defends its national sovereignty in cyberspace.

Next, Bruce Etling, Robert Faris, and John Palfrey’s Political Change in the Digital Age, and Patrick Meier and Rob Munro’s How the Technology Community Succeeded and Failed in Haiti and What We Can Learn, explore the potential of the Internet to facilitate political resistance and disaster response respectively. Writing on the national security challenges posed by cyber threats, Melissa Hathaway emphasizes the need for better cooperation between the public and private sectors while Eneken Tikk illustrates how NATO can play a critical role in ensuring its members’ cybersecurity.

Maja Andjelkovic and Michael Geist each address economic issues that have arisen from cyber innovation; Andjelkovic highlights the potential for technological innovation to drive growth in developing countries while Geist writes of the challenges for intellectual property and copyright rules. Finally, Neil Shenai and Teryn Norris compare the long-term innovative potential of the Chinese and U.S. economie

We are also pleased that our issue includes a book review by Michael Mandelbaum of The Hawk and the Dove. The review highlights the fact that, as with cyber policy, there are two sides to every policy coin.

Finally, our issue concludes with the winning student essays in our biannual SAIS Prize competition: Kevin Cross’s essay on why Iran’s Green movement faltered, Sumiyo Nishizaki’s review of Edwin O. Reischauer and the American Discovery of Japan, and Maggy Horhoruw’s photo essay of Indonesia’s recovery from the 2004 tsunami. We thank them and their competition for their participation.

We thank the entire staff of editors whose commitment made this issue possible and our advisory board for assistance and support. Enjoy.