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.”
Muthoni Nduhiu is a climate change and green growth expert at the African Development Bank, a multilateral financial institution providing finance to African governments and private institutions investing in regional member countries. Her work is focused on mainstreaming climate adaptation and mitigation considerations into all Bank policies and operations, enhancing access to climate finance for implementation of Bank projects and programs and providing technical support for NDC implementation among the Bank’s 13 regional member countries in the Eastern Africa region. She is also an alumnus of the World Economic Forum’s Global Shapers Community, a network of young people driving dialogue, action and change.
