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: Megan Turnbull, Research Fellow, International Security Program
Why do governments and armed groups cooperate in some places and times, violently engage each other in others, and reluctantly tolerate one another still elsewhere? Megan Turnbull argues that the management of coalitional threats in the periphery and the nature of armed groups' ties with local communities (protective or predatory) explain when national-level incumbents collude with, repress, or reluctantly tolerate armed groups. She draws on comparative case studies from Nigeria and Kenya to empirically support her argument and assess rival explanations. The findings contribute to scholarship on armed politics and political orders.
Everyone is welcome to join us online via Zoom! Please register in advance for this seminar:
https://harvard.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJEuc--uqDMpEtWAJuYMx-ANgjOL3CI1k3Al