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.”
The Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs’ Defense and Intelligence Project will host a seminar with Dr. Evelyn N. Farkas, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Russia/Ukraine/Eurasia in the Belfer Center Library (L369) from 10:00 to 11:30 am, Thursday, 28 February 2013. She will speak on, "A Vision for Defense Department Engagement in Eurasia."
As Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Russia/Ukraine/Eurasia, Dr. Farkas is responsible for developing and coordinating defense policy toward Russia, Ukraine and the Caucasus. Prior to assuming her current duties in August 2012, Dr. Farkas served as Senior Advisor to the Supreme Allied Commander Europe/Commander, U.S. European Command, and as Special Advisor for the Secretary of Defense for the NATO Summit. Prior to that, she was a Senior Fellow at the American Security Project.
A former professor at the Command and Staff College of the Marine Corps University, Farkas has served in a variety of positions, including as executive director of the congressionally mandated Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism in 2008. From April 2001 to April 2008, she served as a professional staff member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, conducting policy and budget oversight of the Department of Defense policy office and military commands including the U.S. Pacific Command, Special Operations Command, Southern Command, Northern Command, and U.S. Forces Korea. She served in Bosnia as a Human Rights Officer for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in 1996, and as an Election Supervisor in 1997. In 2009, she was an election observer in Afghanistan.
Her publications include journal articles and opinion pieces in The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, The Washington Times, Defense News, and The Boston Globe. She is the author of Fractured States and U.S. Foreign Policy: Iraq, Ethiopia, and Bosnia in the 1990s (Palgrave/St. Martin’s Press, 2003 and 2008).
Dr. Farkas obtained her MA and Ph.D. from The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. She speaks fluent Hungarian and German. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and a recipient of the Joint Meritorious Civilian Service Award.
Everyone is welcome but admittance is on a first come first served basis.