Digital Commons Network^™

National Security And Federalizing Data Privacy Infrastructure For Ai Governance, Margaret Hu, Eliott Behar, Davi Ottenheimer

Faculty Publications

This Essay contends that data infrastructure, when implemented on a national scale, can transform the way we conceptualize artificial intelligence (AI) governance. AI governance is often viewed as necessary for a wide range of strategic goals, including national security. It is widely understood that allowing AI and generative AI to remain self-regulated by the U.S. AI industry poses significant national security risks. Data infrastructure and AI oversight can assist in multiple goals, including: maintaining data privacy and data integrity; increasing cybersecurity; and guarding against information warfare threats. This Essay concludes that conceptualizing data infrastructure as a form of critical infrastructure …

Cyber Threats Risk Analysis In State Policies In Guaranteeing National Security, Bahri Gashi, Bashkim Smakaj, Ngadhnjim Brovina, Arian Kadriu

UBT International Conference

Cyber threats, generally including hybrid warfare, are among the greatest challenges that states and organizations are facing in modern times. This is due to the significant evolution of technology in recent years, which has made a vast amount of information available to individuals and organizations. Such threats can cause serious damage to critical infrastructure, such as transportation, energy, and water resources, as well as communication and financial systems. They can also impact a country's national security and political stability.

To address this threat, states have implemented various policies and measures to ensure national security against the backdrop of cyber security …

Like Treating The Symptom Rather Than The Cause - The Omission Of Courses Over Terrorism In Nsa Designated Institutions, Ida L. Oesteraas

Journal of Cybersecurity Education, Research and Practice

The National Security Agency (NSA) awards Center of Academic Excellence (CAE) designations to institutions that commit to producing cybersecurity professionals who will work in careers that reduce vulnerabilities in our national infrastructure. A review of the curricula in the 327 institutions and their degree programs reveal that only two programs offer a required course about terrorism. Given the fluid nature of terrorism and its threat to national infrastructure, the omission is concerning. It is recommended that NSA-certified cybersecurity programs begin implementing educational content that aim to teach about this emerging crime and justice issue. One suggestion is to embrace the …

#1 On The U.S. Most Wanted List: Why The Push Is On To Ban The World’S Most Successful Startup From Academic, Government And Military Devices In The United States, Tom Waters

GNSI Publications

TikTok is a social media application that has amassed over 100 million users in the United States. Yet the Biden White House, like the Trump Administration before it, seeks to ban TikTok, or at least force it’s divestment from the parent company, Bytedance. For many the question is how can an app for sharing silly dance videos among teenagers be a national security threat? Unfortunately, the problem is considerably more complex than this simple question. TikTok’s unprecedented success comes from its powerful artificial intelligence-based algorithm.

That activity produces a comprehensive psychological profile of each user and tailors the queue of …

Urban Disaster Wrought By Man: The Battle For Manila, 1945, Russell W. Glenn

Journal of Strategic Security

Urban warfare tends to be intimate. If soldiers do not see the faces of those they kill—and they frequently will—those men and women will hear the screams or muffled groans of the wounded. US forces waging the battle to recapture Manila in 1945 experienced these horrors. Yet it was the noncombatants who suffered far more; 100,000—approximately one of every ten Manileños at the time—died during the fighting. Thousands more suffered wounds, disease, or struggled with hunger and malnutrition. Recent fighting in Syria, Ukraine, Khartoum, and elsewhere tells us too little has changed three-quarters of a century later.

Though urban warfare …

Urban Security: From High-Intensity Crime To Large-Scale Combat Operations And Everything In Between, John P. Sullivan, Ph.D., Nathan P. Jones, Ph.D., Daniel W. Argomedo, Ph.D.

Journal of Strategic Security

No abstract provided.

Artificial Intelligence And Urban Operations, Anthony King

Journal of Strategic Security

It is widely believed that AI is about to revolutionise military operations. Many scholars have claimed that AI-enabled lethal autonomous weapons, especially drone swarms, are about to take over the battlefield. This article assesses the merits of those claims in relation to urban operations. Examining the cases of the Joint Special Operations Command in Baghdad in 2004-08 and the IDF's Operation Guardian of the Walls in 2021, it argues that AI will primarily be for military intelligence and targeting, rather than lethal autonomy.

The National Security Consequences Of The Major Questions Doctrine, Ganesh Sitaraman, Timothy Meyer

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

The rise of the major questions doctrine—the rule that says that in order to delegate to the executive branch the power to resolve a “question of ‘deep economic and political significance’ that is central to [a] statutory scheme,” Congress must do so expressly—threatens to unmake the modern executive’s authority over foreign affairs, especially in matters of national security and interstate conflict. In the twenty-first century, global conflicts increasingly involve economic warfare, rather than (or in addition to) the force of arms.

In the United States, the executive power to levy economic sanctions and engage in other forms of economic warfare …

Two Visions Of Digital Sovereignty, Sujit Raman

Joint PIJIP/TLS Research Paper Series

No abstract provided.

Gnsi Decision Brief: The National Guard's State Partnership Program In Strategic Competition, Tad Schnaufer

GNSI Decision Briefs

Both the National Security (NSS) and National Defense Strategies (NDS) make it clear that the US is "in the midst of a strategic competition" with Russia and China. Both documents highlight the strengths the US has in this competitive environment, notably its allies and partners. The NSS states, "The United States' unrivaled network of allies and partners protects and advances our interests around the world--and is the envy of our adversaries." The US employs a variety of methods to maintain this invaluable network. One expanding method is the National Guard's State Partnership Program (SPP). The SPP establishes formal relationships between …

War, Decisions, И Деньги: Analyzing Private Military Companies In American And Russian Contexts, Tara Harper

University Honors Theses

Private Military Companies (PMCs) have become increasingly prevalent throughout the global security landscape. Their rise has led war - and the tools state's use to wage it - to become increasingly privatized with each state's varied approach to the evolving security landscape. Understanding and comparing the role of PMCs in such states as the U.S. and Russia allows for greater clarity regarding the industry as a whole, due to the structural differences in each state's approach to utilizing these companies. Regarding the Russian context, such companies as the Wagner Group have increasingly gained global attention due to how they are …

Gnsi Policy Dialogues: Hunger As A Weapon, Arman Mahmoudian, Funmi Odumosu, Tad Schnaufer Ii

GNSI Conference Reports

First GNSI Policy Dialogues Conference

May 24, 2023

University of South Florida

Military Advisors, Service Strategies, And Great Power Competition, Mike Anderson

Journal of Strategic Security

United States professional military advisors play a critical role across the spectrum of conflict within the various services’ strategies in support of the overall National Defense Strategy. In an era of great power competition, the role of advisory forces within the shadow of large-scale conflict, provide a crucial edge for the US military services fulfilling their strategic role. Within each of the services’ unique strategies - the Army’s multidomain operations, the Marine Corps expeditionary advanced base operations nested within the Navy’s broader littoral operations in a contested environment, and the Air Force’s forward projecting agile basing concept - advisors from …

China's Strategic Devaluing Of American Social Capital, Garrett Martin

Journal of Strategic Security

The information technology era has opened a myriad of new battlespaces through which nations engage each other. China has advanced their “three warfares” doctrine – political warfare, public opinion warfare, and legal warfare – behind a robust and aggressive economic agenda. Direct financial investment and tightly controlled access to both their large consumer market and cheap labor force has given them considerable leverage in key sectors of American industry, particularly those in the communication sphere. The narrative crafting capabilities increasingly acquired by China are beginning to appear as genuine cultural hegemony. This indicates an ability to shape the American collective …

The Need For An Australian Regulatory Code For The Use Of Artificial Intelligence (Ai) In Military Application, Sascha-Dominik Dov Bachmann, Richard V. Grant

American University National Security Law Brief

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is enabling rapid technological innovation and is ever more pervasive, in a global technological eco-system lacking suitable governance and absence of regulation over AI-enabled technologies. Australia is committed to being a global leader in trusted secure and responsible AI and has escalated the development of its own sovereign AI capabilities. Military and Defence organisations have similarly embraced AI, harnessing advantages for applications supporting battlefield autonomy, intelligence analysis, capability planning, operations, training, and autonomous weapons systems. While no regulation exists covering AI-enabled military systems and autonomous weapons, these platforms must comply with International Humanitarian Law, the Law of …

The Tallinn Manual 2.0 On Nation-State Cyber Operations Affecting Critical Infrastructure, Terence Check

American University National Security Law Brief

Protecting critical infrastructure from cyber threats is difficult and complex. News headlines abound with reports that show how critical infrastructure—ranging from voting machines to steel mills—have become increasingly vulnerable to cyber operations from state and sophisticated nonstate actors. As critical infrastructure becomes increasingly entangled with the Internet and as new tactics, techniques, and procedures rapidly proliferate and evolve, governments and businesses alike must contend with a mutating threat environment that may put sensitive and highly important critical infrastructure assets in serious jeopardy. The vulnerabilities of critical infrastructure, which provide vital services and functions to societies, may pose a particularly tempting …

Regulating The Use Of Military Human Enhancements That Can Cause Side Effects Under The Law Of Armed Conflict: Towards A Method-Based Approach, Yang Liu

American University National Security Law Brief

The development of human enhancement (HE) technology has rendered its military potential increasingly noticed by major military powers. It can be expected that “enhanced warfighters” or “super soldiers” will be used on the battleground in the foreseeable future, which can give rise to many legal issues.

Into The Valley Of The Shadow Of Death: War Crimes Committed In Service Of Russia's Crusade To Destroy Ukraine, Chris Galarza

American University National Security Law Brief

When Russian tanks rolled across the border into Ukraine during the early morning of February 24, 2022, most in the American defense and diplomatic establishment were shocked and sure the war would be over in a few days. Credible open-source tactical and strategic analysis predicted that Ukraine’s regular military forces would be defeated in “days or weeks” as long as Russian military forces were determined to pursue their objectives. The United States Government was so sure that Kyiv was under imminent threat of capture that they offered to evacuate President Volodymyr Zelenskyy so that he could rule from exile, rather …

Distinguishing Principled Beliefs From Causal Beliefs In American Foreign Policy, Leo Blanken, Justin Overbaugh

Journal of Strategic Security

We use the concepts of “principled beliefs” and “causal beliefs” to critically interrogate American foreign policy during the Post-Cold War era (1990-2016). This period was characterized by an American push to establish a globalized Liberal order that conflated principled beliefs (beliefs about what is normatively right and wrong) with causal beliefs (beliefs about the way the word objectively works) with pernicious consequences. We examine the sources of this conflation and offer recommendations to rectify this problem moving forward.

Taiwan’S Asymmetrical Defense: Policies And Alternatives, Shang-Su Wu

Journal of Strategic Security

In view of the increasingly serious threats by China’s rising military power, Taiwan has been compelled to adjust its strategy towards asymmetrical warfare owing to its inferior military capabilities. Taiwan does not have a better alternative to an asymmetrical strategy because it cannot return to a symmetrical strategy or move to a strategy centered on people’s war. Through its indigenous defense industry and an external arms supply by Washington, Taipei has built up considerable capabilities for sea denial against Beijing’s sophisticated platforms that are indispensable for thwarting invasion. These denial capabilities enhance the island’s defense, but Taiwan’s various conditions represent …

Creating Light At Tunnel’S End: Ukraine’S Post-War Urban Recovery, Russell W. Glenn

Journal of Strategic Security

The US response to Iraq’s recovery in the aftermath of 2003 Operation Iraqi Freedom suffered from an initial conclusion that it was the country’s petroleum infrastructure rather than its electrical networks that were in greater need of recovery resources. The resulting misallocation of resources delayed power restoration to much of the country and frustrated those in affected regions.

Whether the cause is war or a catastrophe sparked by Mother Nature, accurately identifying and correctly prioritizing post-disaster requirements is fundamental to an effective and efficient response. Ukraine has demonstrated a commendable ability to repair war damage even as conflict continues, but …

Decision Advantage: Intelligence In International Politics From The Spanish Armada To Cyberwar. By Jennifer E. Sims. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2022., Adam D.M. Svendsen

Journal of Strategic Security

This article provides an annotated review essay of Jennifer E. Sims’ book, Decision Advantage (2022). She communicates several valuable insights into how intelligence manifests in international affairs. Qualities are accomplished through Sims’ development of the concept and theory of ‘decision advantage’ in a variety of intelligence contexts, articulated via a series of different historical case studies ranging chronologically from the Spanish Armada to Cyberwar. Alongside acknowledging intelligence systems and engineering, notions of ‘intelligence power’ and ‘intelligence advantage(s)’ emerge as central, together with ideas of agility and adaptability amongst exponents. While undeniably forming a useful start, what Sims’ work ultimately discloses …

The National Security Consequences Of The Major Questions Doctrine, Timothy Meyer, Ganesh Sitaraman

Faculty Scholarship

The rise of the major questions doctrine—the rule that says that in order to delegate to the executive branch the power to resolve a “question of ‘deep economic and political significance’ that is central to [a] statutory scheme,” Congress must do so expressly—threatens to unmake the modern executive’s authority over foreign affairs, especially in matters of national security and interstate conflict. In the twenty-first century, global conflicts increasingly involve economic warfare, rather than (or in addition to) the force of arms.

In the United States, the executive power to levy economic sanctions and engage in other forms of economic warfare …

"Attacking" Big Data: Strategic Competition, The Race For Ai, And The International Law Of Cyber Sabotage, Gary P. Corn, Eric Talbot Jensen

Faculty Scholarship

This chapter begins with a discussion of the national security threat that China’s AI development efforts pose, and the importance of big data to those efforts. It then moves to a review of potential cyber-enabled operations, particularly as applied to data, that could impede or thwart China’s AI development. The chapter then proceeds to a review of the international law implications of cyber sabotage, beginning with a discussion of the jus ad bellum and followed by a review of other relevant aspects of the international law of state responsibility such as the rule of prohibited intervention, principles of state sovereignty, …

Imperialism In The Making Of U.S. Law, Nina Farnia

St. John's Law Review

(Excerpt)

This Article proceeds in two parts. In Part I, “U.S. Foreign Policy as Racial Policy,” I identify the four key policy pillars of U.S. imperialism: militarism, unilateral coercive measures, foreign aid, and the deployment of the dollar. I then pivot to a brief history of U.S. imperialism in the Middle East, highlighting the geographic and racial specificities that influence the ideological and legal contours of U.S. imperialism. I end this section with an analysis of The Public Report of the Vice President’s Task Force on Combatting Terrorism (1985), which was a defining document in the making of anti-terrorism law …

Proxy Wars & Sovereignty: The Ethics And Impacts Of Proxy War On State Sovereignty, Catherine Latchford

Liberty University Journal of Statesmanship & Public Policy

Proxy war has been utilized by states since the age of the Romans. From the Byzantine-Sassanian wars to the Vietnam War, countries have involved themselves in other countries’ conflicts for centuries in the name of national interest. However, the involvement in proxy war opens a door to vast considerations of ethics and implications to the internal resources and national security interests of a state. Furthermore, proxy warfare can impact the sovereignty of both the warring states and the countries pulling the strings; thus, it is necessary to evaluate and understand the impact proxy war has on state sovereignty. This paper …

Twenty-One Years Later: Reflections On 9/11, Bessie Blackburn, Shaddi Spencer, Hayden O'Connor

Liberty University Journal of Statesmanship & Public Policy

Twenty-one years ago, one of the greatest attacks on the American republic occurred. On September 11, 2001, American Airlines Flights 11, 77, 93, and 177 were hijacked by Islamic extremists and crashed in New York City, Washington D.C., and Pennsylvania. The atrocity of these incidents and the extensive loss of life impacted not only the United States but the entire world. Nevertheless, in light of this tragedy the American people found unity in patriotism, rekindling a sense of national purpose in the form of the “Global War on Terrorism.” This document is a compilation of reflection articles written by individuals …

Strategy In An Uncertain Domain: Threat And Response In Cyberspace, Joe Devanny, Luiz Rogerio Franco Goldoni, Breno Pauli Medeiros

Journal of Strategic Security

Over the last decade, "cyber power" has become an increasingly prominent concept and instrument of national strategy. This article explores the nature of contemporary cyber power, focusing on how states should respond to "cyber uncertainty." Cases of cyber operations against Estonia, Georgia, and Ukraine, as well as cyber operations conducted (and suffered) by the United States, highlight the evolving role of cyber operations as an instrument of statecraft. Given the complexity of cyber forensics and the polluted information environment of the global public sphere, the public diplomacy of coordinated attribution statements cannot be expected to cut through conclusively or uniformly. …

Revisiting Domestic Intelligence, John P. Sullivan, Genevieve Lester

Journal of Strategic Security

This article looks at the evolution of US domestic intelligence prior to and since 9/11 in light of the Capitol attacks. It also reviews the literature and practice of intelligence reform in the context of foreign comparative experience (France, UK, Canada, Australia). It looks at the promise of fusion centers, cocontemporay domestic intelligence models, and the continuing need for domestic intelligence reform.

Additional Keywords: Domestic Intelligence, Intelligence Reform, Intelligence Fusion

Answering The Call: A History Of The Emergency Power Doctrine In Texas And The United States, P. Elise Mclaren

St. Mary's Law Journal

During times of emergency, national and local government may be allowed to take otherwise impermissible action in the interest of health, safety, or national security. The prerequisites and limits to this power, however, are altogether unknown. Like the crises they aim to deflect, courts’ modern emergency power doctrines range from outright denial of any power of constitutional circumvention to their flagrant use. Concededly, courts’ approval of emergency powers has provided national and local government opportunities to quickly respond to emergency without pause for constituency approval, but how can one be sure the availability of autocratic power will not be abused? …