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.”
Biography
Dr Bethan Johnson is an expert on issues related to terrorism and violent extremism, as well as identity politics and ethno-nationalism. She completed her master's and Ph.D. in History at the University of Cambridge, the latter as a Cambridge Trust and Vice-Chancellor's Scholar. Her doctoral work studied the radicalization methods employed by terrorists and violent ethno-nationalists in Western Europe and North America in the Long '68 era.
She now applies theories of identity politics and radicalization to more modern contexts, specifically those of the radical right. Her work on white supremacism has earned her the Terrorism Research Award and seen her collaborate with such organizations and companies as the International Center for Counter-Terrorism, the Royal United Service Institute, and Facebook. Her upcoming work will study the life and life's work of James Nolan Mason, the author of Siege and thought-leader behind white supremacist lone-wolf terrorism today.
Last Updated: Sep 7, 2022, 12:06pmAwards
Contact
Email: bethanjohnson@hks.harvard.edu
Mailing Address:
79 John F Kennedy Street
Mailbox 134
Cambridge, Massachusetts