The overarching question imparting urgency to this exploration is: Can U.S.-Russian contention in cyberspace cause the two nuclear superpowers to stumble into war? In considering this question we were constantly reminded of recent comments by a prominent U.S. arms control expert: At least as dangerous as the risk of an actual cyberattack, he observed, is cyber operations’ “blurring of the line between peace and war.” Or, as Nye wrote, “in the cyber realm, the difference between a weapon and a non-weapon may come down to a single line of code, or simply the intent of a computer program’s user.”
Is rivalry between uniformed military services harmful or beneficial in achieving healthy civil-military relations in the United States? This seminar will explore early-stage work that is part of an effort to fit the widely-recognized phenomenon of interservice rivalry into a more general theory of U.S. civil-military relations. The speaker will discuss the case of the 1949 "Revolt of the Admirals," in which underlying tension over the unification of the military services and the future of U.S strategic doctrine erupted into a highly publicized feud between the Navy and the Air Force, nominally over funding for weapons systems. She will also discuss the beginnings of a theoretical framework that draws on existing literatures in U.S. civil-military relations, bureaucratic politics, and organizational economics.
Please join us! Coffee and tea provided. Everyone is welcome, but admittance will be on a first come–first served basis.