Norm diffusion in cyber governance: China as an emerging norm entrepreneur?

The past decade has witnessed the emergence of China as a technological and cyber power with immense potential to reshape the sphere of cyber governance at the regional and global levels. Hosting the largest internet-user community in the world and comprising the second-largest digital economy, China has increasingly pursued a leadership role in reshaping the global cyber governance regime. In this light, questions arise regarding the extent to which China can be considered a newly emerging norm entrepreneur or norm-shaper in global cyber governance, along with the nature of China’s attempts to diffuse its norms and approaches in cyber governance beyond its territorial borders. 

This article advances the existing scholarly discussions by exploring two questions: (1) What specific norms has China sought to externalize in the domain of cyber governance? (2) What mechanisms has China used to promote its norms and relevant policies in cyber governance beyond its territory? This paper addresses these questions by developing an analytical framework, drawing from the norm diffusion literature which provides a more nuanced understanding of the complex nature and structure of norms along with the diffusion mechanisms. Methodologically, this research primarily adopts a qualitative content analysis approach based on open-source primary and secondary materials. This article pursues a two-fold argument: firstly, by contesting the linear and static conceptualization of norms, this study delves into the tripartite structure of China’s cyber norms. It demonstrates that China has actively promoted a constellation of values and appropriate behaviours in order to address the myriad of problems and challenges it identifies in global cyber governance, revolving around three core norms, namely cyber sovereignty, multilateralism, and balance between security and development. Secondly, this research argues that, instead of using a single diffusion mechanism, China has relied on a dynamic combination of socialization and positive incentives which are driven by both state-led actors and private sectors to diffuse its cyber norms and approaches at regional and international levels.