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.”
About the Speakers
- Dr. Foloshadé Soulé is a Senior Research Associate at the Global Economic Governance programme (University of Oxford). Her research focuses on Africa-China relations, the study of agency in Africa’s international relations, and the politics of South-South cooperation. She was a postdoctoral fellow at the London School of Economics, and a former Oxford-Princeton Global Leaders Fellow. Additionally, she is the initiator of the Africa-China negotiation workshop series bringing together African negotiators and senior policymakers to exchange and build better negotiation practices when dealing with China.
- Dr. Shirley Yu is a Senior Practitioner Fellow with the Ash Center at the Harvard Kennedy School, and the Director of the China-Africa Initiative at the Firoz Lalji Institute for Africa at the London School of Economics. She is also a distinguished Foreign Faculty professor at the National Defence University (Islamabad, Pakistan), and a member of the Davos Expert Network on China, 5G, and Geo-economics. Shirley is a frequent commentator for many international outlets like the BBC, Al Jazeera, CNN, and Financial Times.
- Jendayi E. Frazer is the President and CEO of 50 Ventures, a private consulting and investment company that seeks to elevate Africa's global standing by investing in its governance, education, enterprise, and stability sectors. She is also an Adjunct Senior Fellow for Africa Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. Prior to these roles, she served as U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs (2005-2009), U.S. Ambassador to South Africa (2004-2005), and Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for African Affairs at the National Security Council (2001-2004). Additionally, she served as a distinguished public service professor at Carnegie Mellon University (2009-2014).
About the Moderator
- Natalie Colbert is the Executive Director of the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. Before coming to the Belfer Center, Natalie served in the Central Intelligence Agency for 13 years. Most recently, she was Director of Analytic Resources and Corporate Programs for the Near East Mission Center. Natalie managed multiple analytic teams to produce intelligence assessments on the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America for the President.