ABSTRACT
The chapter analyses the development of the German cyber security policy in four areas (law enforcement, intelligence services, military, and the protection of critical infrastructure). Drawing on role theory, the chapter proposes a two-level role game to account for domestic and international influences on the development of cyber security policies. This approach facilitates a more holistic look at the different factors (and their interactions) shaping cyber security policies. It is argued, that in order to establish stable cyber security policies the administration’s role (in this case “protector”) has to be met by complementary counter roles from parliament, judiciary, nonstate actors, and international partners. These role-plays follow different patterns in the four areas studied because of the actors involved and the different kinds of insecurity that have to be addressed. The chapter shows that the government has expanded its protective role in the different areas analyzed, but it also illustrates processes of contestation that limited domestic and international role-taking and thereby shaped the cyber security policy.
