Global Communication and the Post-Statism of Cyberspace: A Spatial Constructivist View

Steinberg, Philip E.; McDowell, Stephen D.

Abstract

Scholars from a range of perspectives question how the system of sovereign, territorial states is being impacted by the rise of cyberspace, a domain of information flows that apparently transcends state boundaries. Opinions range from those of neorealists who view these flows as posing a fundamental threat to state integrity to neoliberals who view them as one more opportunity for international cooperation. In this article, we hold that both of these views are based upon a liberal conception of space wherein there is a diametric tension between social activities that occur within state territory and those that occur across or outside state boundaries. In contrast, we develop a spatial constructivist perspective wherein spaces of production and consumption and spaces of flows both are viewed as continually being reconstructed amid capitalism's dialectical tendencies toward fixity and mobility. We conclude by suggesting that while the rise of trans-boundary information flows in cyberspace does not represent a new challenge to the state system, it does represent the latest intensification of a long-standing tension, and that efforts to develop a regime that supports both capital fixity and mobility are likely to fall short of their goals.

Citation

Steinberg, P. E., & McDowell, S. D. (2003). Global Communication and the Post-Statism of Cyberspace: A Spatial Constructivist View. Review of International Political Economy, 10(2), 196-221. https://doi.org/10.1080/0969229032000063207

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: 2003
• Deposit Date: Sep 6, 2013
• Journal: Review of International Political Economy
• Print ISSN: 0969-2290
• Electronic ISSN: 1466-4526
• Publisher: Taylor and Francis Group
• Volume: 10
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 196-221
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/0969229032000063207
• Keywords: Capital Fixity, Capital Mobility, Cyberspace, International Relations, Internet, Spatial Dialectic
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1448139