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.”
This session of the Applied History Working Group will feature Fareed Zakaria, a globally recognized journalist and distinguished policy commentator. Zakaria, with Graham T. Allison, will analyze the rich lessons history offers for “building back better” in a post-pandemic world.
Zakaria’s candid assessments of the policies advocated over recent decades—and their impacts for good and ill—are bracing. Because we are little distanced from these events, Zakaria's assessments provide only a first draft of history—but they are a powerful demonstration of how even recent history can illuminate current choices.
All HKS affiliates are welcome to attend; register using the RSVP link above.
Fareed Zakaria hosts Fareed Zakaria GPS for CNN Worldwide and is a columnist for The Washington Post, a contributing editor for The Atlantic, and a bestselling author. Prior to his tenure at CNN Worldwide, Zakaria was editor of Newsweek International, managing editor of Foreign Affairs, a columnist for Time, an analyst for ABC News, and the host of Foreign Exchange with Fareed Zakaria on PBS. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Yale University, a doctorate in political science from Harvard University, and has received numerous honorary degrees.