Weaponization of everything
"Weaponization of everything" is a phrase referring to an expansion of the definition of what a weapon is, and correspondingly the expansion of what constitutes a threat, attack, and defense.[1] This expansion or increase in distribution makes it harder to identify what a (threat) attack (or defense) is.[2] The phrase when taken to an extreme means that every individual or group of people will be able to affect the security of every other individual or group of people.[3] Between its reality and its theoretical conceptualization is a gap implying that the world has not exhausted its opportunities for security.[4] The phrase also implies understanding to what extent something can be weaponized.[5] This results in the identification of how war can be waged through other means, including less violent means.[5]
The history of war makes it clear that the underlying concept is not new; however the scope of "everything" changes.[6] The phrase has been compared to the law of the instrument; when all you know is how to attack, everything will be used as a weapon, and to the 'enemy' everything will feel like a weapon, and everything will be used as a defense.[7]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Metz, Steven (8 June 2018). "America Isn't Ready for the 'Weaponization Of Everything'". World Politics Review. Retrieved 3 November 2022.
- ^ ""The Weaponization of Cyber Space" – Report from the MSC Cyber Security Summit in Tallinn". Munich Security Conference. 30 May 2018. Retrieved 3 November 2022.
- ^ Wittes & Blum 2016, Introduction: Our new world, in short, is one of many-to-many threats and many-to-many defenses. While it is not yet literally the case, every individual, every group, every company, and every state will soon have the potential to threaten the security of–and have his, her, or its security threatened by–every other individual, group, company, and state..
- ^ Wittes & Blum 2016, Introduction: Our new environment of highly distributed threats and defenses... will change the way we govern our collective security and how we manage our personal safety. [...] modern society has not yet exhausted the implications for security.
- ^ a b Galeotti 2022, p. 5.
- ^ Mousavizadeh, Nader (25 September 2015). "COLUMN-The weaponization of everything: Globalization's dark side". Reuters. Retrieved 3 November 2022.
- ^ Freier, Nathan; Dagle, Jonathan (9 September 2018). "The Weaponization of Everything". Defense One. Retrieved 3 November 2022.
Bibliography
[edit]- Wittes, Benjamin; Blum, Gabriella (2016). The Future of Violence - Robots and Germs, Hackers and Drones: Confronting the New Age of Threat. Amberley Publishing Limited. ISBN 978-1-4456-5594-9.
- Galeotti, Mark (2022). The Weaponisation of Everything: A Field Guide to the New Way of War. Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-26513-2.