Re-Defining Borders Online: Russia’s Strategic Narrative on Internet Sovereignty

[摘要] Over the past decades, internet governance has developed in a tug‐of‐war between the democratic, transnational nature ofthe web, and attempts by national governments to put cyberspace under control. Recently, the idea of digital sovereigntyhas started to increasingly gain more supporters among nation states. This article is a case study on the Russian con‐cept of a “sovereign internet.” In 2019, the so‐called law on sustainable internet marked a new milestone in the develop‐ment of RuNet. Drawing on document analysis and expert interviews, I reconstruct Russia’s strategic narrative on internetsovereignty and its evolution over time. I identify the main factors that have shaped the Russian concept of sovereignty,including domestic politics, the economy, international relations, and the historical trajectory of the Russian segment ofthe internet. The article places the Russian case in a global context and discusses the importance of strategic narratives ofdigital sovereignty for the future of internet governance.

[学科分类] 医学（综合）

[关键词] digital sovereignty;internet governance;Russia;strategic narrative