Examining the Position of Cyberspace in the Transformation of the Nation-State Structure: A Case Study of the Gulf Cooperation Council Member States

Subject Areas : International Relations

seyed reza alikhani ¹ , Hasan Eyvaz-zadeh ^{2 *} , seyed farshid jafari pabandi ³

1 -
2 - دانشگاه آزاد اسلامی زنجان
3 - Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science and International Relations, Zanjan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Zanjan, Iran

Received: 2025-06-02 Accepted : 2025-10-05 Published : 2025-12-03

Keywords: Cyberspace, Nation-State, Gulf Cooperation Council, Digital Civil Society, Cyber ​​Authoritarianism Sea,

Abstract :

The transformation of political and social structures in the contemporary world has been influenced by new phenomena such as cyberspace. In this study, the role and position of cyberspace in the transformation and evolution of the state/nation structure in the Gulf Cooperation Council member states is examined. This study focuses in particular on the effects of cyberspace in the areas of political legitimacy, citizen participation, and state-nation relations in countries with authoritarian regimes.

Since these countries have monarchical and semi-democratic structures, their reactions to cyberspace and the exploitation of this new tool have contributed to the formation and change of political and social identities

The main question of this article is: What impact has cyberspace had on traditional structures of legitimacy in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries? Research hypothesis: Considering the components of cyberspace such as awareness-raising, government accountability, and dependence on technology, it seems that this concept has been influential in the evolution of the state/nation structure in the above countries, especially in terms of politics and governance, and has played a major role in the formation and change of power structures.

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