European Union policy and the use of the normative power regarding cybersecurity

The transformation of our societies due to technological progress and worldwide spread of information technologies has established a new domain where states must establish a “normal” way of relating to each other. National legislation has been adapted in order to reach this domain; however, in an international context there are still different manners to interpret what behaviour is normal and acceptable. The European Union has established a framework regarding its own cybersecurity and aims to establish the rule-of-law to progress towards a secure digital world; it has also created sanction rules to punish behaviours which oppose its own view. This paper tries to look at what effects it has had on other major actors in the realm of cybersecurity: The United States, Russia, and China. By looking at the development of the frameworks of these countries and their actions and comparing it to the objectives of the European Union in this matter, it shows that effects have been different in each case and that they are not coercing the actions of the other states, not because of a failed implementation, but due to their own nature.