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  • Varieties of International Cyber Strategies (VoICS): Text Analysis of National Cybersecurity Documents

    Dataset thumbnail: Varieties of International Cyber Strategies (VoICS): Text Analysis of National Cybersecurity Documents
    Type:
    Dataset
    Description/Abstract:
    Varieties of International Cyber Strategies (VoICS): Text Analysis of National Cybersecurity Documents is a project that compares and contrasts the three main approaches to conceptualize national cybersecurity strategies (NSS): deterrence, norm-based approach (NBA) and cyber persistence engagement (CPE). Scholars and policymakers have initially conceptualized NSS in terms of deterrence or NBA. More recent academic research has demonstrated that these frameworks are inadequate for cyber space. As a result, Cyber Persistence Engagement (CPE) emerged as a third option. The first version (1.0) of the VoICS database on National Cybersecurity Strategies focuses on nations in Europe and North America and includes a total of 77 NCS of the states in the North Atlantic Area—NATO allies, EU members and Switzerland—released from 2003 until the end of 2023. The current 1.2 version includes 83 strategies from 36 allies and partners. It consists of 27 variables, including country and strategy identifiers, EU and NATO membership, their respective accession dates, and total length of the documents. VoICS include eighteen variables representing different measures of relative and absolute weights of the three NSS types—deterrence, NBA and CPE. The text analysis is based on official NSS documents provided by the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence library (2024) and ENISA’s interactive map for National Cyber Security Strategies (2023). Both sources rely on voluntary submission from the member states. Unfortunately, some official documents were not available or accessible or were not listed at all. Authors have used various sources and contacts with a variety of cyber attachés in Brussels to determine if any additional strategies were released and to obtain the missing documents. The 18 text analysis variables compare and contrast the extent to which different NCS are associated with a specific strategy. They represent different frequency scores based either on words, phrases, or words and phrases combined. These calculations are associated with either deterrence, NBA, or CPE in each strategy. The authors have generated respective vocabularies for the three strategic ideas through which each of these approaches are operationalized. We have conducted a text analysis using WordStat text analysis software by Provialis ( https://provalisresearch.com/products/content-analysis-software/). A detailed codebook for NSS Dataset 1.2 along with a NSS Dictionary 1.2 have been included in this collection/ repository. The process of generating vocabulary associated with the three cybersecurity approaches involved several steps. First, upon reviewing the literature, the authors generated independently a list of words and phrases associated with each type of cybersecurity strategy. Second, the authors compared their lists to determine the degree of overlap in vocabulary. Those words and phrases that included in at least two different lists were reviewed and, if there was consensus, were incorporated in the dictionary. Finally, words and phrases which were identified in only one of lists were once again reviewed and, in case there was a consensus among the authors, these were also included in the dictionary. Third, the three vocabularies were updated on several instances when it was unanimously agreed that these words or phrases should be included in the analysis.
    Creator/Author:
    Millard, Matthew; Kovac, Igor, and Ivanov, Ivan Dinev
    Submitter:
    Ivan Ivanov
    Date Uploaded:
    05/12/2025
    Date Modified:
    08/29/2025
    Date Created:
    2025-04-18
    License:
    All rights reserved