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
This seminar explains how election violence is jointly organized by political elites and different nonstate groups in Nigeria. Around the world, incumbents increasingly resort to violence and intimidation to manipulate elections. In doing so, they often turn to various nonstate actors to carry out violence on their behalf. Under what conditions do politicians seek to organize election violence, and why do different nonstate groups agree to perpetrate violence for them? Through four comparative case studies from Nigeria, the project demonstrates how local political orders shape the capacity and the incentives for politicians and nonstate groups to organize violence during elections.
Everyone is welcome to join us online via Zoom! Please register in advance for this seminar:
https://harvard.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJMuceuqrT0iEtCwmotshvWef8t0UOvI7pz-