Cyberwar and Information Warfare

Chapter 2

War of Meaning, Cyberwar and Democracies ¹

2.1. Introduction

The world does not live in peace. The crises or conflicts experienced represent the fate encountered every day determining new power relationships or enabling new more ambitious, better armed actors to impose their power. “This new strategic reality expresses the life or death of a nation confronted with its destiny, faced with the competition and ambition of other human groups” [LAB 96]. This is all within a space restricted by culture, geography, law or the people. It leads to the war of meaning and cyberwar.

Why should we speak of the war of meaning? Our approach is based on current conflicts to which Western states are deeply committed. This is not simply a question of conquering a land, but rather bringing about peace there in the name of the international community. They are acting within a context of an information society, which allows any actor (either state-controlled or not), to dispute their conception and perception of the world, regarding their position of dominance held since the 15^th Century.

The “war of meaning” is regarded as the desired direction and is reflected upon by different actors for international relations, in fact, more precisely in our discussion between Western states and non-Western actors, according to their strategic interests and the future they anticipate. The war of meaning is based on the values which establish the ideologies of these actors, where the confrontation of these ...