Description
Campaigns and operations in and through cyber space are playing an increasingly visible role in international relations both in times of peace and of war. This increased visibility, along with the growing reliance of contemporary societies on cyber-related technologies for their correct functioning, have generated widespread interest in both academia, policymaking circles, and the wider society. Significant attention has been recently paid to the issue of cyber escalation risk. In other words, people have been trying to assess whether the growing reliance on cyber operations in interstate relations increases or decreases the likelihood of conflict and war among states. However, most of the debate has taken place at the theoretical level with few works testing such theories through actual empirical evidence. This paper contributes to this important area of research with an empirical study of the cyber escalation risk concerning the specific case of Iran-US relations in the 21st century. In particular, it aims at assessing whether the bilateral relationship offers any evidence substantiating the idea that increased cyber activity makes crisis escalation management more difficult.
