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.”
Wendy R. Sherman is non-resident Senior Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School's Belfer Center. Ambassador Sherman is also Senior Counselor at Albright Stonebridge Group, where she brings decades of experience in business, government, international affairs, and politics to help ASG clients gain understanding of geopolitical developments, navigate international markets, and constructively address policy challenges around the world.
Ambassador Sherman rejoined ASG after her distinguished service as Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs at the U.S. Department of State. In this global role, she oversaw the bureaus for Africa, East Asia and the Pacific, Europe and Eurasia, the Near East, South and Central Asia, the Western Hemisphere, and International Organizations. She also led the U.S. negotiating team and was a central player in reaching a successful conclusion of the Iran nuclear agreement. In recognition of her diplomatic accomplishments, she was awarded the National Security Medal by President Barack Obama.
Prior to her most recent service at the State Department, Ambassador Sherman was Vice Chair of the Albright Stonebridge Group, having helped to found and grow the firm for a decade.
Ambassador Sherman previously served as Counselor for the State Department (1997-2001), as well as Special Advisor to President Clinton and Policy Coordinator on North Korea. In that role, she worked as a close advisor to then Secretary of State Madeleine Albright on every major foreign policy and national security issue, and also managed numerous special assignments including negotiations on nuclear non-proliferation.
From 1993–1996, Ambassador Sherman served as Assistant Secretary for Legislative Affairs under Secretary of State Warren Christopher.
Earlier in her career, she managed Senator Barbara Mikulski's first successful campaign for the U.S. Senate and served as Director of EMILY’s List.
Ambassador Sherman served as Chair of the Board of Directors of Oxfam America and was also on the U.S. Department of Defense’s Defense Policy Board, a group tasked with providing the Secretary of Defense with independent, informed advice and opinion, concerning matters of defense policy. In 2008, she was appointed by Congressional Leadership to serve on the Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction, Proliferation and Terrorism. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and of the Aspen Strategy Group. Ambassador Sherman is a frequent commentator and analyst for both international and domestic media.
She attended Smith College and received a B.A. cum laude from Boston University and a master’s degree in Social Work, Phi Kappa Phi, from the University of Maryland.
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