From Control to Authority:China’s AI-Driven Cyber Governance, Norm Diffusion,and Its Implications for North Korea

Abstract

Since 2022, the commercialization of generative artificial intelligence (AI) has transformed cyberspace into a pivotal arena for great-power competition. China, perceiving cyberspace as sovereign territory, has utilized AI to establish an alternative source of normative authority. Employing the norm life cycle framework, this study highlights three mechanisms of diffusion: (1) information and discourse, (2) the consolidation of state authority through data localization, and (3) the projection of cybersecurity governance via AI, cryptography, and technical standards. The analysis reveals that China has entrenched normative authority domestically and disseminated elements of its model to select developing nations, including indirect influence on North Korea’s evolving digital governance architecture. However, China’s global influence remains constrained. The European Union’s rights-based regime, the United States’ multi-stakeholder approach, and China’s limited position in international standard-setting all restrict broader adoption. The article concludes that China’s normative authority is transitional—anchored in domestic consolidation and partial diffusion but limited internationally—highlighting a contested, rather than consolidated, trajectory for the global order. These findings carry broader implications for the Korean Peninsula, where the widening normative gap between China-aligned digital authoritarianism and liberal governance models is reshaping the strategic landscape.