An increasing number of states have published information regarding cyber operations discovered on networks within their jurisdiction. Little research has been published analysing what might motivate and explain such behaviour. Understanding why states chose to publish sensitive details is important, as practices of strategic interaction in cybersecurity are only just emerging into public view.

Abstract:

Israel scores very high internationally in the reported happiness of its Jewish inhabitants, and government politicians make much of that survey result. On the face of it there is a paradox: the country does not score high on other quality-of-life indicators and is not an easy place to live in. I will report on the construction and record of quality-of-life indicators more generally, on what they tell us about Israel, on currently ongoing research about well-being in the country, and on how the paradox might be understood and resolved.

About the speaker:

It was the original forever war, which went on interminably, fuelled by religious and constitutional disputes, personal ambition, fear of hegemony, and communal suspicion. It dragged in all the neighbouring powers. It was punctuated by repeated failed ceasefires. It inflicted suffering beyond belief and generated waves of refugees. This description could apply to Syria today, but actually refers to the Thirty Years War (1618-48), which turned much of central Europe into a disaster zone. The Thirty Years War is often cited as a parallel in discussions of current conflict in the Middle East.

Economies represent moral and political choices that vary across time and place. We are now witnessing the fraying of the political economic framework that guided action for decades and that created bases for social cohesion. With unravelling comes contestation of the values that undergird the framework and antagonism against those perceived as violating the social compact. Periodically, it is necessary to update the political economic framework, including its embedded moral economy.

As the nature of conflict evolves, new questions are being asked about how individual safety and the rights of civilians are affected. Who is responsible for protecting the human right to bodily integrity in a globalised world? How is the transformation of warfare in the technological, political and strategic realms affecting the individual rights of civilians and combatants?