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.”
Air Vice Marshal Arjun Subramaniam (Retd) is a fighter pilot-scholar-author who recently retired from the Indian Air Force after 36 years in uniform. He is an experienced fighter pilot with command, staff and instructional experience. A PhD in Defence and Strategic Studies from the University of Madras, India, he is a prolific writer, strategic commentator, and military historian. He writes in the public domain for reputed journals, magazines and newspapers. He is the author of three books including the well-received India’s Wars: A Military History 1947-1971 that has been published in India by Harper Collins and has been recently published in the U.S. by the U.S. Naval Institute Press. His other books are titled Reflections of an Air Warrior and Wider Horizons: Perspectives on National Security, Air Power & Leadership.
He is currently a Visiting Fellow at the Harvard Asia Center to research and write the sequel to his book on war and conflict in contemporary India (1972-2015). He is also a Non-Resident Senior Fellow at the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Power Studies in Washington D.C, and a contributing editor at "The Print," an online news and opinion platform. On his current sabbatical, he has lectured at Harvard, MIT, Georgetown, Air War College, NDU, and the Carnegie Endowment. He is slated to speak extensively on his work at war colleges and universities across the U.S. over the next few months.