Dr. Enescan Lorci is a researcher specializing in cyber governance, emerging technologies, and international security. He earned his Ph.D. in Social Sciences from the Institute of China and Asia-Pacific Studies at National Sun Yat-sen University in Taiwan, where his research focused on the intersection of technology, geopolitics, and global governance.

He is currently affiliated with the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy as a Visiting Fellow and has also served as a Visiting Fellow at the Hungarian Institute of International Affairs. His scholarly work examines the impact of critical and emerging technologies on international relations, with particular emphasis on cyber governance, digital sovereignty, U.S.–China strategic competition, Indo-Pacific security, democratic resilience, and information warfare.

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Prevailing accounts of Taiwan’s “silicon shield” suggest that global dependence on Taiwanese semiconductors enhances deterrence and secures US support amid conflict with China. This paper challenges that assumption through Taiwan’s strategic discourse, where skepticism persists about deterrence, external commitments, and cyber vulnerabilities in an emerging digital state of nature. Drawing on policy debates, expert commentary, and industrial strategy, it argues semiconductor dominance yields ambiguous security effects. Asymmetric interdependence boosts Taiwan’s value in US-led tech-security networks yet fuels cyber espionage, evident in 2025 China-linked campaigns targeting TSMC suppliers via phishing and malware, and accelerates supply chain diversification, eroding leverage. The shield fails to reliably deter China: strategic stakes may trump economic disruption costs, amplified by hybrid cyber threats like daily DDoS on Taiwan’s infrastructure. US dependence bolsters intervention rationale but not credibility concerns. Viewing Taiwan as an active agent in great-power rivalry, the paper advances debates on interdependence, alliances, and supply chain weaponization amid geopolitical cyber shifts.

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