To compete and thrive in the 21st century, democracies, and the United States in particular, must develop new national security and economic strategies that address the geopolitics of information. In the 20th century, market capitalist democracies geared infrastructure, energy, trade, and even social policy to protect and advance that era’s key source of power—manufacturing. In this century, democracies must better account for information geopolitics across all dimensions of domestic policy and national strategy.
The risks posed by the proliferation of cyber weapons are gaining wide recognition among security planners. Yet the general reaction of scholars of international relations has been to neglect the cyber peril owing to its technical novelties and intricacies. This attitude amounts to either one or both of two claims: the problem is not of sufficient scale to warrant close inspection, or it is not comprehensible to a non-technical observer. This seminar will challenge both assertions. It will make a case and present a framework for the study of international relations in the cyber domain as well as assess the transforming effects—or not—of the related technologies on patterns of rivalry and conflict in the international system.
Please join us! Coffee and tea provided. Everyone is welcome, but admittance will be on a first come–first served basis.
Slides from this presentation are available here: http://belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu/publication/22140/