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.”
Speaker: Caitlin Talmadge, Associate Professor of Security Studies, Georgetown University
A new nuclear era is emerging, defined by the presence of both a competitive relationship among three nuclear-armed great powers—the United States, Russia, and China—as well as multiple regional nuclear competitors. Drawing on international relations theory, strategic nuclear thought, and the historical record, this seminar will examine the potential implications of this emerging nuclear environment for strategy and policy.
Everyone is welcome to join us online via Zoom! Please register in advance for this seminar:
https://harvard.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJEsdeuqpjMqE9zGCkAKwECP6lWxsAhaarxP
This seminar is being held under the auspices of the joint HKS/MIT Program on Strategy, Security, and Statecraft.
For more information, email the International Security Program Assistant at susan_lynch@harvard.edu.