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
Ruhee Neog was a Research Fellow with the Belfer Center’s Project on Managing the Atom and International Security Program. She is Director of the Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies in India and a Cooperative Monitoring Center Fellow with Sandia National Laboratories in the United States. Ruhee looks at the role of norms, language, and institutions in shaping choices and behavior in international relations. As director of a think-tank, she leads the design and execution of projects across the policy spectrum, including Track 1.5 and Track 2 dialogues. The interdisciplinary nature of these projects also informs her research, which is currently on nuclear policy, cybersecurity, and South Asian border security.
Ruhee’s past research includes India’s engagement with export control regimes, and its nuclear security culture—through fellowships supported by the Stimson Center and Nuclear Threat Initiative—and the role of traditional and new media in crisis decision-making. She has a forthcoming co-authored book on global armed conflicts that aims to make security issues accessible to a broader audience. Ruhee holds an M.A. in History of International Relations from the London School of Economics and a B.A. in Literature from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi University.
Last Updated: Sep 19, 2023, 12:40am