Description
In Subversion, Lennart Maschmeyer provides a powerful new theory and analysis of an age-old concept. While a strategy of subversion offers great strategic promise in theory, it faces an underappreciated set of challenges that limit its strategic value in practice. Drawing from two major cases--the KGB's use of traditional subversion methods to crush the Prague Spring in 1968 and Russia's less successful use of cyberwarfare against Ukraine since 2014--Maschmeyer demonstrates both the benefits and weaknesses of the approach. While many believe that today's cyber-based subversion campaigns offer new strategic opportunities, they also come with their own challenges. Because of these disadvantages, cyber operations continue to fall short of expectations--most recently in the Russo-Ukrainian war. By showing that traditional subversion methods remain the more potent threat, Subversion forces us to reconsider our fears of the subversive potential of cyberwar.
About the Author
Lennart Maschmeyer is a senior researcher in cybersecurity at the Center for Security Studies at ETH Zurich. He holds a PhD from the University of Toronto and an MPhil from the University of Oxford. His work has been published in International Security, the European Journal of International Relations, and the Journal of Information Technology and Politics and has received wide news coverage.
Reviews
This even-handed and thoroughly researched study of subversion adds significantly to our understanding of covert cyber operations carried out by nations against adversaries. With insightful case studies of Russian invasions into Czechoslovakia in 1968 and Ukraine in 2013 and again in 2022, the book proved a highly readable and reliable examination of cyber conflict in the modern era." * Loch K. Johnson, Regents Professor Emeritus, School of Public and International Affairs, University of Georgia *
In Subversion: From Covert Operations to Cyber Conflict, Lennart Maschmeyer develops a deductive theory of subversion that he skillfully applies with rich case studies to a carefully scoped set of cases and strategic outcomes. When applied to cyber operations, he helps advance understanding of cyber's utility, particularly the limits of cyber effects operations as tools of regime change or as substitutes for physical attack." * Emily O. Goldman, US Cyber Command *
This is a genuinely important book. That's because a generation of policymakers and opinion formers have been conditioned to think of cyber capabilities both those pointed against them and their own - as immediately available, low-risk, easy-to-use tools that can deliver decisive and - if you want - deniable impact against a range of targets...Maschmeyer has done a public service with his meticulously researched and extensively evidenced debunking of such nonsense. * Ciaran Martin, Lawfare *
Lennart Maschmeyer's work effectively reflects the way in which the actors of international relations act in this social space of secrecy located at the intersection of the internal and international fields. * French Studies on Intelligence and cyber *
Maschmeyer does do an excellent job in his discussion on the Russian use of cyber weapons against Ukraine, and he offers some very valuable insights as to their effectiveness. A book focused on those issues would have been very useful to analysts and policymakers. * Lawrence E. Cline, Small Wars & Insurgencies *
Lennart Maschmeyer's Subversion is good scholarship. Maschmeyer offers a theory of subversion which, through its nuanced reasoning and case study-based analysis, will advance intelligence studies' understanding of this state practice with greater precision and, potentially, guide policy consideration. * , Richard J. HarknettH-Diplo *
Maschmeyer's book raises so many questions for future research is a testament to its contributions in bringing order and conceptual rigor to the study of subversion. It will be a valuable resource to any scholar or practitioner who seeks to make sense of conflict short of war in the twenty-first century. * , Melissa M. LeeH-Diplo *
Maschmeyer's framing and analysis of subversion in general, and cyber-enabled subversion in particular, is a welcome and fascinating contribution to the literature on cyber conflict and its efficacy. In addition to the excellent cases he offers here, this book and the foundational framework it offers for understanding subversion will undoubtedly be a valuable lens though which to assess other types of cyber operations and understand the trade-offs inherent in their design for many years to come. * , Josephine WolffH-Diplo *
Book Information
ISBN 9780197745854
Author Lennart Maschmeyer
Format Hardback
Page Count 352
Imprint Oxford University Press Inc
Publisher Oxford University Press Inc
Weight(grams) 680g
Dimensions(mm) 241mm * 160mm * 25mm
About the Author
Lennart Maschmeyer is a senior researcher in cybersecurity at the Center for Security Studies at ETH Zurich. He holds a PhD from the University of Toronto and an MPhil from the University of Oxford. His work has been published in International Security, the European Journal of International Relations, and the Journal of Information Technology and Politics and has received wide news coverage.
Reviews
This even-handed and thoroughly researched study of subversion adds significantly to our understanding of covert cyber operations carried out by nations against adversaries. With insightful case studies of Russian invasions into Czechoslovakia in 1968 and Ukraine in 2013 and again in 2022, the book proved a highly readable and reliable examination of cyber conflict in the modern era." * Loch K. Johnson, Regents Professor Emeritus, School of Public and International Affairs, University of Georgia *
In Subversion: From Covert Operations to Cyber Conflict, Lennart Maschmeyer develops a deductive theory of subversion that he skillfully applies with rich case studies to a carefully scoped set of cases and strategic outcomes. When applied to cyber operations, he helps advance understanding of cyber's utility, particularly the limits of cyber effects operations as tools of regime change or as substitutes for physical attack." * Emily O. Goldman, US Cyber Command *
This is a genuinely important book. That's because a generation of policymakers and opinion formers have been conditioned to think of cyber capabilities both those pointed against them and their own - as immediately available, low-risk, easy-to-use tools that can deliver decisive and - if you want - deniable impact against a range of targets...Maschmeyer has done a public service with his meticulously researched and extensively evidenced debunking of such nonsense. * Ciaran Martin, Lawfare *
Lennart Maschmeyer's work effectively reflects the way in which the actors of international relations act in this social space of secrecy located at the intersection of the internal and international fields. * French Studies on Intelligence and cyber *
Maschmeyer does do an excellent job in his discussion on the Russian use of cyber weapons against Ukraine, and he offers some very valuable insights as to their effectiveness. A book focused on those issues would have been very useful to analysts and policymakers. * Lawrence E. Cline, Small Wars & Insurgencies *
Lennart Maschmeyer's Subversion is good scholarship. Maschmeyer offers a theory of subversion which, through its nuanced reasoning and case study-based analysis, will advance intelligence studies' understanding of this state practice with greater precision and, potentially, guide policy consideration. * , Richard J. HarknettH-Diplo *
Maschmeyer's book raises so many questions for future research is a testament to its contributions in bringing order and conceptual rigor to the study of subversion. It will be a valuable resource to any scholar or practitioner who seeks to make sense of conflict short of war in the twenty-first century. * , Melissa M. LeeH-Diplo *
Maschmeyer's framing and analysis of subversion in general, and cyber-enabled subversion in particular, is a welcome and fascinating contribution to the literature on cyber conflict and its efficacy. In addition to the excellent cases he offers here, this book and the foundational framework it offers for understanding subversion will undoubtedly be a valuable lens though which to assess other types of cyber operations and understand the trade-offs inherent in their design for many years to come. * , Josephine WolffH-Diplo *
Book Information
ISBN 9780197745854
Author Lennart Maschmeyer
Format Hardback
Page Count 352
Imprint Oxford University Press Inc
Publisher Oxford University Press Inc
Weight(grams) 680g
Dimensions(mm) 241mm * 160mm * 25mm
