U.S. Allies Offensive Cyber: Entrapment Risk or Entanglement Nuisance
By Maj. Mikkel Storm Jensen, Ph.D.
| December 05, 2023
In 1984, Glenn H. Snyder wrote an analysis of states’ dilemmas in alliances with this issue at its core that has demonstrably had excellent explanatory and predictive power.1 In the Cold War’s technological strategic context of nuclear and conventional military means, he found that: “In general, entrapment is a more serious concern for the lesser allies than for the superpowers […] because the superpowers have a much greater capacity for taking ini¬tiatives (notably nuclear initiatives).” In NATO, the US controls much of the alliance’s conventional military capabilities and most of its nuclear weapons. Applying Snyder’s analysis, this vests the US with a sufficient level of control over NATO’s crisis management, to minimize the US’ risk of en¬trapment in conflicts. Emergence of cyberspace as a new venue for military operations changes the US strategic environment.
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