Emerging technology, strategy, and international order

ABSTRACT

This essay provides an overview of three avenues by which emerging technology affects the international order: perceptions of technological effects, alliance integration and operability, and compliance with liberal ordering principles. It concludes with three recommendations for policymakers. First, strategically implement the ‘hype’ surrounding emerging technologies. Second, when integrating technology into alliance doctrine, carefully address abandonment and entrapment concerns to ensure ally buy-in. Finally, understand that technological advances have changed the set of options available to policymakers below the level of armed conflict, thereby reverberating on perceptions of the liberal order and opening alternative routes to state alignment.

KEYWORDS:

• Emerging Technology
• strategy
• international order

Disclaimer

The views expressed in this work are those of the author(s) and do not reflect the official policy or position of the United States Military Academy, the Department of the Army, or the Department of Defense).

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. The performative effects of advanced technology can have political, propaganda, and security benefits referred to as “hype” in this article. Alliance cohesion can be the difference between technology having a stabilizing, rather than a chaos-inducing, effect on the rules-based world order.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Jane Kaufmann

Jane Kaufmann is an officer in the U.S. Air Force and a PhD Student at Stanford University in the Department of Political Science.

Kathryn Hedgecock

Kathryn Hedgecock is an officer in the U.S. Army and an assistant professor of international affairs at the United States Military Academy at West Point, NY.

Nathan Hedgecock

Nathan Hedgecock is an officer in the U.S. Army and a research analyst in the Operations Research Center in the Department of Systems Engineering at the United States Military Academy at West Point.

Olivia Raykhman

Olivia Raykhman is a cadet at the United States Military Academy, majoring in the Department of Foreign Languages. Upon graduation, she will commission as an officer in the U.S. Army.