China's Internet Governance: A New Conceptualization of the Cyber-Sovereignty Model

Abstract

In recent years, China’s Internet governance regime has been subject to increasing literature scrutiny and attention. A rising superpower, China’s vision for the Internet on domestic and international stages has far-reaching implications for the future cyber world order. While traditional theories of governance typically categorize China as a cyber-sovereign nation, I argue that China’s approach is more nuanced and can better be considered under a “flexible” cyber-sovereignty model. Through both a historical and case-study analysis, I suggest that this new model for China better considers the effects of new, rising capital forces—Chinese internet corporations—and explains the dynamic mix of rejection and assimilation into the existing regime that characterizes China’s current Internet governance strategy. Ultimately, this new model can help us conceptualize China’s vision and strategy for Internet governance, which can have far-ranging implications for the future of cyberspace and the Internet as we know it.