CYBERSECURITY AND FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT SUSTAINABILITY UNDER GEO-ECONOMIC RISKS: AN ECONOMETRIC ANALYSIS OF ITS MODERATING ROLE IN EMERGING ECONOMIES WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO IRAQ

Background: This study examines cybersecurity’s impact on the sustainability of foreign direct investment (FDI) flows amidst rising geo-economic risks and its moderating role in making FDI less sensitive to external developments. An analytical framework is adopted in the research work which reassigns cyber security as a core institutional determinant of economic sustainability in the digital economy. Methods: Using panel data from selected emerging economies for the period 2015-2023, the Fixed Effects (FE) model and the System Generalized Method of Moments (System GMM) are used to ensure consistency and endogeneity. Results: The estimated results indicate that the cybersecurity coefficient is positive and statistically significant and the interaction coefficient is positive and significant. Results indicate that geopolitical risk and FDI do not correlate for countries with IT readiness. Marginal-effects analysis requires the direction and significance of the conditional eff Conclusions: The study contributes an analytical framework that links digital transformation with economic sustainability, with a specific emphasis on Iraq as a case that reflects institutional–digital hurdles and investment stability impacts. The findings have direct policy implications for emerging economies striving to mitigate digital vulnerability and bolstering investment resilience.