Cyber Attacks: Why the U.S. Should Fear China, Blog #2, Dignan

       As China bolsters its economy and increases its military spending, many who study International Relations pose the question: “Should the U.S. fear China?” My answer, simply, would be yes. While I don’t see China initiating a traditional military mission on the U.S. anytime in the foreseeable future, I could certainly see it using non-traditional methods, like cyber attacks, to diminish the U.S.’s position as the global hegemony.

            Mearshimer states that China is probably more dangerous than any hegemony the U.S. faced in the twentieth century – and this is a scary thought. In the twentieth century alone, the U.S. took part in major military operations against Nazi Germany, Iraq, Korea, and Vietnam – just to name a few. Ikenberry notes in “Rise of China and Future of the West,” that China’s influence in the international arena grows as the U.S.’s position as the global hegemony erodes. He says realists argue that China will use its growing power to influence and shape the rules of the international system to better suit its interests. One of China’s primary interests, like most states, is probably to establish itself as a hegemony.

            Over recent years, China’s economy has grown significantly, and I expect it to continue this upward trend. A country’s economic power, a form of hard power, enables the state to increase its military power as well. As Mr. Shirk stated in his lecture about the Rise of China, China is expected to surpass the U.S. in economic power in 2030. This increase in economic power will enable them to amp up its military strength. However, it is doubtful that China will ever surpass the U.S. in military spending. If China wishes to dominate the international system as the global hegemony, it will have to resort to non-conventional methods rather than customary military action.        

            One method I predict China will use to secure its rank as a hegemony is cyber attacks. There have already been multiple harbingers indicating that this is a potential strategy for China (just check out some of these news articles from this week about China and cyber attacks: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2014/10/21/apples-icloud-service-suffers-cyber-attack-in-china-putting-passwords-in-peril/; http://www.fastcompany.com/3037336/china-launches-cyber-attack-as-new-iphones-arrive). I believe cyber attacks pose a great threat to the security of our international system. Society relies so heavily on the Internet – for everything from people tweeting about what they had for breakfast to the government storing top-secret information. China allegedly has already launched attacks on the new iPhone 6 to hack into user’s personal information. In modern times, the information stored on laptops and cell phones is often quite personal and many people don’t want their privacy infringed upon. If American citizens don’t want the NSA snooping on their private information, I can guarantee that they probably won’t feel comfortable with the Chinese government hacking into their personal Internet information.

            But cyber security not only poses threats to individuals, it also can be use as an attack on foreign governments. If China were to hack into the U.S. government’s databases, it could easily destroy us. They could take command of our military or possibly detonate weapons of mass destruction with the click of a button halfway around the world. While these scenarios are extreme and probably unrealistic, it is worth noting that China could possibly secure a position as a hegemony in the international system through the non-traditional method of cyber attacks.

I predict that these cyber attacks will be prevalent in modern and future international relations. In order for the U.S. to secure its position as the global hegemony, it is important to protect ourselves and our government against foreign cyber attacks.