Dr. Miguel Alberto Gomez (Ph.D.) currently serves as a Senior Research Fellow at the Centre on Asia and Globalisation (CAG) at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (LKYSPP) in Singapore, following a previous role as a Senior Researcher at the Center for Security Studies (CSS) at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich, Switzerland. His research focuses on the intricate relationship between emerging technologies, national security, and decision-making processes, with a particular interest in how policymakers utilize cyberspace technologies to serve national interests and their impact on public opinion. His work has been published in well regarded outlets such as International Studies Quarterly, European Journal of International Security, and International Interactions. Dr. Gomez earned his doctorate in Political Science from the Universität Hildesheim in Germany and a master’s degree in International Security from the Institut Barcelona d’Estudis Internacionals in Spain. Prior to his academic pursuits, he spent eight years as an information security professional, following his bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from the De La Salle University in Manila, Philippines.
Where do you see the most exciting research/debates happening in your field?
Two promising areas of research in the field of cyber conflict studies in recent years are (1) the increasing interest in its micro-foundational aspects as well as (2) the regional characteristics of cyber conflict. The former refers to growing scholarly inquiry surrounding the cognitive and emotional dimensions of the phenomena. I find this especially important as it brings humans back into the conversation and challenges the technological determinism that characterizes much of the literature. Furthermore, with the lines between cyber conflict and influence operations being continually blurred, as well as the appearance of effects-based operations (i.e., malicious behavior in cyberspace that generates physical effects), it becomes necessary to bring the individual back into the conversation – both elites and the public.
As for the latter, a new generation of scholars at the tail-end of their doctoral studies and a handful of established academics are beginning to shed light on cyber conflict outside the usual North American and European environment. This pivot towards other regions is necessary to provide a broader perspective on the nature of cyber conflict and how best to address it. Moreover, it highlights how middle powers approach cyberspace while keeping in mind their interests and capabilities.
How has the way you understand the world changed over time, and what (or who) prompted the most significant shifts in your thinking?
This was due to shifts in my professional life and the perspectives of those with whom I continue to work (i.e., my co-authors and the broader cyber community). International politics was not my “natural environment” so to speak. I began my career as a cybersecurity practitioner with a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science before moving to international politics and security. A motivation behind this career change and my subsequent thinking was how cyber capabilities and operations appeared to occur hand in hand with the South China Sea dispute involving the Philippines (I am a national) and China.
Once down this path, the individuals and institutes I worked with shaped my thoughts surrounding the strategic use of these technologies. Around 2016, it was clear that cyberspace was being used as an instrument of statecraft. Nevertheless, very little was said about how individual decision-makers and the public thought about the domain. This is unsurprising given the underlying assumption of rationality framed the existing theories around cybersecurity specifically and emerging technologies like artificial intelligence broadly. I found this problematic since these technologies are ultimately just tools. How they are used and the subsequent strategic benefits, if any, remained a function of how the users and intended targets viewed them.
From then on, my approach towards international politics tends to put the individual at the center. This is not to say that meso- (e.g., the defense establishment) or macro-level (e.g., the international system) factors do not matter – only that a holistic perspective is required to explain better how states employ emergent technologies that introduce a significant amount of uncertainty into the........