Problematisation Analytics: New Foucauldian Direction in Theory and Method for Cybersecurity and AI Governance Research

Cybersecurity and AI governance remain increasingly framed as urgent legal and policy challenges. Yet dominant research approaches to the analysis of these global challenges often overlook how these domains are discursively constructed as problems. This thematic paper proposes Problematisation Analytics as a novel theoretical and methodological framework for critically examining how cybersecurity and AI-related challenges are constructed as ‘problems’ within global digital technology governance. Moving beyond conventional problem-solving approaches, the framework draws on Foucauldian concept of problematisation, fusing it with Carol Bacchi’s ‘What’s the Problem Represented to be?’ (WPR) approach and Mitchell Dean’s classification of power effects. It demonstrates how this systematic approach facilitates certain lines of questioning that enables researchers to deconstruct policy narratives and uncover the underlying power dynamics inherent in problem definitions and the governance responses directed towards them. By analysing how these emerging issues are discursively framed, and the effects that such framings produce, Problematisation Analytics offers a powerful lens for understanding the complex interplay of power, knowledge, and law within discourse around emerging technologies and their challenges. Thus, the framework contributes to a deeper and critical understanding of current and future digital technology governance, allowing researchers to challenge dominant narratives and foster more nuanced approaches to new governance challenges, such as those related to global cybersecurity and AI.