The Impact Of The U.S.A Cyber Deterrence Strategy On The Principle Of Prohibition Of The Use Of Force

After the publication of National Cyber Strategy of the United States of America in 2018,it pointed out that the United States should actively deter and combat unacceptable behaviors.This move marked the United States’ turn from defense to attack in cyberspace,which triggered extensive discussions in the academic community.Its aggressive cyber deterrent means posed new challenges to the existing international law system.Therefore,it is necessary to analyze the legitimacy of American cyber deterrence strategy and regulate its cyber deterrent means by international law.The first chapter starts from the origin of American cyber deterrence strategy.By analyzing the background,contents and problems of American cyber deterrence strategy,it is found that since the concept of cyber deterrence was born,American cyber deterrence approach has undergone a transformation from passive defense to active offense.Driven by the idea of active offensive deterrence,American cyber deterrence strategy may violate the principle of prohibiting the use of forc e and other international laws.The second chapter analyzes the violation of the prohibition of the use of force by American cyber deterrence strategy.Firstly,the lexical meaning of deterrence covers threats from the perspective of etymology.Secondly,the applicability of the doctrine of prohibition of the use of force to American cyber deterrence strategy is discussed in the light of Tallinn Manual 2.0 on the International Law Applicable to Cyber Operations,international law cases and scholars’ viewpoints.Finally,based on the broad sense of force,narrow sense of force and relevant examples,this paper analyzes the illegal suspicion of American cyber deterrence strategy of "using all national power to strike unacceptable behaviors".The third chapter is based on the violation of the principle of prohibition of the use of force in American cyber deterrence strategy,and the attribution of network behavior can be divided into two situations: whether it can be attributed to countries.To further explore the use of force in American cyber deterrence strategy,it is difficult to make accurate attribution and carry out force strike due to the characteristics of strong concealment and attribution difficulty in cyber attacks and other cyber behaviors.In the end,it may lead to the abuse of force,which may impact the prohibition of the use of force principle and affect the state attribution rule.The fourth chapter analyzes the possibility of international law regulating cyber deterrence from the perspectives of the origin,strategic value,existing international law regulation and similarities and differences with cyber deterrence.What’s more,we will discuss the same policy of deterrence and the reasons why American cyber deterrence strategy is difficult to achieve the same effect as the nuclear deterrence strategy.Finally,it summarizes the impact of American cyber deterrence strategy on the principle of prohibiting the use of force,and makes suggestions for Chinese cyber deterrence strategy in the new era,so as to safeguard national interests by means of defensive cyber deterrence in accordance with international law and jointly build a community of shared future for mankind in cyberspace.