Luncheon Meeting on August 23, 2018

Topic

Cyber Strategy: Russia, Putin and Political Warfare

Speaker

Ryan Maness

Naval Postgraduate School

Overview

Russia’s continued interference in U.S. and other Western electoral processes and political discourse via cyber and information warfare tactics has left these societies divided and discontent.  As Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation continues to uncover Russia’s involvement in the 2016 campaign, the question that remains for many is whether members of the Trump campaign were involved and, if so, at what level.

Ryan Maness will examine why Russia does what it does in the cyber domain, and what the United States can do about it.  He will describe how cyber coercion complements, rather than replaces, traditional instruments of statecraft and power.  He will offer the empirically-grounded theory that cyber strategies function more as political warfare and covert action than decisive instruments of war, and seem most useful in the manipulation of information between geopolitical rivals.  He also will discuss the emerging art of cyber strategy as part of a larger approach to coercion by states in the
international system since the turn of the century.

Ryan Maness is the primary data collector and coder of the Dyadic Cyber Incident and Dispute (DCID) dataset, which records all state-attributed cyber incidents between rivals.  He has published in outlets such as Oxford University Press, Journal of Peace Research, Foreign Affairs, and Armed Forces and Society.  His most recent book is Cyber Strategy: The Changing Character of Power and Coercion (Oxford University Press, 2018). Professor Maness earned his PhD in Political Science at the University of Illinois.

Agenda

Thursday, August 23, 2018
11:30 am: Registration
11:50 am: Luncheon
12:50 pm: Program

Luncheon Menu

• Caesar Salad
• Chicken Piccata with Lemon Caper Sauce
• Rice Pilaf and Vegetable Medley
• Fresh Rolls and Butter
• Chef’s Choice Dessert
• Coffee
• Vegetarian Option: Fettucini Alfredo

Luncheon Cost

• $29 for members
• $35 for guests
• Lecture is open to the public at no charge, beginning at 12:50pm

Registration

Registration for the luncheon is now closed.  Audience seating for the lecture only may be available, depending on room capacity, on a first-come-first-served basis.

Location