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Tuesday, 13th of October 2026 | PhD Defense Celien De Stercke 

Soldiers of Fortune and the Governance of Security. The New Wild West?

The rise of the digital realm is reshaping how security is organised, delivered, and coordinated in the 21st century. Within the grey zone of cybercrime and cyberwarfare, cyber mercenaries blur the boundaries between internal and external security, further complicating attribution, responsibility, and response. Drawing on the qualitative case studies of Belgium and Croatia, this doctoral endeavor examines how civilian, law enforcement, military, intelligence, and private actors are aligned in practice to address high-level cybersecurity challenges. By re-engaging governance of security theory through an empirical analysis of cybersecurity architectures, the research contributes to broader debates on how security is governed in cyberspace.