Science & Technology

67 Items

an alert from the Department of Homeland Security's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency

AP/Jon Elswick

Journal Article - Foreign Affairs

The End of Cyber-Anarchy?

| January/February 2022

Joseph Nye argues that prudence results from the fear of creating unintended consequences in unpredictable systems and can develop into a norm of nonuse or limited use of certain weapons or a norm of limiting targets. Something like this happened with nuclear weapons when the superpowers came close to the brink of nuclear war in 1962, during the Cuban missile crisis. The Limited Test Ban Treaty followed a year later.

Security specialist Erik Dickmeyer works at a computer station with a cyber threat map displayed on a wall in front of him

AP Photo/John Minchillo

Analysis & Opinions - Project Syndicate

Can Cyberwarfare Be Regulated?

| Oct. 02, 2019

Joseph Nye writes that In the cyber realm, the same program can be used for legitimate or malicious purposes, depending on the user’s intent. But if that makes traditional arms-control treaties impossible to verify, it may still be possible to set limits on certain types of civilian targets and negotiate rough rules of the road that limit conflict.

Tehran Iran

Wikimedia Commons

Analysis & Opinions - Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists

Iran and the US elections: Observations from a trip to Iran

| Dec. 13, 2016

Iran has entered uncharted territory following the landmark nuclear deal between Tehran and six world powers. I recently came back from a six-week trip to Iran where I had the opportunity to observe first-hand the changes, developments, and uncertainty in the country. The widespread optimism that initially surrounded the deal, and the expectations that it would bring an economic windfall, have been significantly diminished since, and there were many questions: Should Iran integrate into the global economy? How much will the economy improve with the lifting of sanctions? What will the policies of the next US president be, and what will this mean for Iran? With the recent victory of Donald Trump, these questions have become all the more important to Iranians.

- Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School Belfer Center Newsletter

Welcome Mr. Secretary

Fall/Winter 2015-16

The Belfer Center hosted Secretary of State John Kerry in October for a discussion of diplomacy and challenges in critical hotspots around the globe.

Center Director Graham Allison asked Secretary Kerry about his concerns and plans related to Iran, Syria, Russia, and the Islamic State. The overflow event included questions from the more than 500 Harvard students and faculty in attendance.

Analysis & Opinions - Project Syndicate

The Global Economy Confronts Four Geopolitical Risks

| December 28, 2015

The end of the year is a good time to consider the risks that lie ahead of us. There are of course important economic risks, including the mispricing of assets caused by a decade of ultra-low interest rates, the shifts in demand caused by the Chinese economy’s changing structure, and European economies’ persistent weakness. But the main longer-term risks are geopolitical, stemming from four sources: Russia, China, the Middle East, and cyberspace.

Although the Soviet Union no longer exists, Russia remains a formidable nuclear power, with the ability to project force anywhere in the world. Russia is also economically weak because of its dependence on oil revenue at a time when prices are down dramatically. President Vladimir Putin has already warned Russians that they face austerity, because the government will no longer be able to afford the transfer benefits that it provided in recent years.