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.”
Dr. Avner Cohen tackles the Iranian nuclear issue and considers its impact on the non-proliferation regime as well as on regional developments and perceptions about nuclear issues. He is a Senior Fellow, Jennings Randolph Fellowship Program at the United States Institute of Peace. He has been a senior research scholar at the Center for International and Security Studies at the University of Maryland since 2000. Previous positions include service as a senior fellow at the National Security Archive in Washington, D.C. and co-director of the Project on Nuclear Arms Control in the Middle East at MIT. Cohen was also a senior fellow at USIP from 1997-1998.
Cohen's awards include research and writing grants from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, a fellowship at Harvard University's Center for Science and International Affairs, and the Philadelphia Inquirer's designation of his book Israel and the Bomb as one of the best books in 1998. Cohen has authored and edited six books and also published numerous articles in academic journals such as Ethics, The Journal of Strategic Studies, Survival, Israel Studies, Security Studies, and The Nonproliferation Review, among others, as well as many op-eds in leading newspapers in the U.S. and Israel.
Cohen holds an M.A. in philosophy from York University and a Ph.D. in the history of culture from the University of Chicago.
Dr. Cohen will present his seminar "Israel's Unique Bargain with the Bomb: Appraisal and Critique," on November 27, 2007 in the Belfer Center Library, beginning at 9:30 am.