Cybermaktens tysta språk: En WPR-analys av EU:s Cyberförsvarspolicy
2025 (Swedish)Independent thesis Advanced level (degree of Master (Two Years)), 20 credits / 30 HE credits
Student thesis
Abstract [en]
This thesis analyses how the EU’s Cyber Defence Policy constructs cybercapabilities in relation to strategic power, using Bacchi’s WPR approach andNye’s concepts of hard, soft, and smart power. Through qualitative textualanalysis of the 2022 Joint Communication on EU Cyber Defence, the studyshows that the policy frames strategic and operational fragmentation as thekey problem, promoting centralised coordination and standardisation as thepath to effective cyber power. This implicitly equates coordination with thecontextual effectiveness central to smart power, while sidelining alternativessuch as decentralisation, diversified resilience, and proactive soft powerstrategies. The analysis reveals underlying assumptions of state-centrism,techno-optimism, and institutional bias, and highlights overlooked tensionsconcerning sovereignty, ethics, and strategic prioritisation. By exposing thesediscursive silences, the thesis offers a more nuanced conceptualunderstanding of cyber power and contributes to the development of criticalmethodologies in security policy analysis.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
2025. , p. 39
Keywords [sv]
Cybermakt, EU:s cyberförsvarspolicy, WPR, Smart Power, Fragmentering, Säkerhetspolitik.
National Category
War, Crisis, and Security Studies Political Science (Excluding Peace and Conflict Studies)
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:fhs:diva-13860OAI: oai:DiVA.org:fhs-13860DiVA, id: diva2:1970767
Subject / course
War Studies, Thesis
Educational program
Högre officersprogrammet (HOP)
Uppsok
Social and Behavioural Science, Law
Supervisors
Examiners
2025-06-172025-06-172025-09-29Bibliographically approved