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.”
The Iran-Iraq War began eighteen months after the establishment of Iran's Islamic Republic and lasted for what now amounts to one quarter of its existence. The war has had a profound impact on all aspects of life in Iran. Non-Iranian studies of the conflict, however, have failed to appreciate the war's significance, in part because scholars have neglected Persian-language sources on the conflict. Some of the most notable Iranian sources are those produced by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, the powerful military and political organization that was born in the revolution and hardened in the war. This seminar, drawing on the research completed for the speaker's doctoral dissertation, will use those sources to examine how the Revolutionary Guards have represented the history of the war and their roles in the conflict.
Please join us! Coffee and tea provided. Everyone is welcome, but admittance will be on a first come–first served basis.