Dear Quartz members—
A bloody civil war in Syria. The threat of nuclear weapons in North Korea. The US Space Force. If modern warfare seems futuristic, confusing, and terrifying all at once, well, it is. Our new field guide this week by Quartz reporters Tim Fernholz, Justin Rohrlich, and Daniel Wolfe explores the geopolitical, economic, and technological trends that are driving the future of war.
Today’s state of play breaks down how these trends have created a new era of “gray-zone aggression,” with states launching conflicts in a nebulous area between war and peace to avoid the escalation into nuclear apocalypse—a dynamic that helps you understand everything from Iran’s strategic calculus to why Russia got away with seizing Crimea and hacked the 2016 election.
Next, we explore five potential battlefields of future conflicts through maps, satellite imagery, and data. And we give you a toolkit so you can track these developments yourself or take a deeper dive into a specific area.
One of our stories looks closely at how climate change is affecting the US military, and why the Pentagon is going green even as its political masters deny the problem exists. And we examine the battle against killer robots—unfortunately, they’re here, they’re a problem, and they’re probably not going away.
TO DISCUSS WITH FRIENDS OVER DINNER:
Here are a few conversation starters from our guide:
- While the US is the preeminent military power on the globe, its rivals are now more likely to win a war against it than anytime in recent decades.
- Scientists believe that the current combination of nuclear weapons infrastructure and information technology have the world closer to apocalypse than any time during the Cold War.
- Climate change is not only being driven by the US military—whose carbon footprint exceeds many nations—but is also creating new challenges like resource scarcity and the new geography of the Arctic.
- Weapons researchers are racing to build artificial intelligence that will win battles—but should they?
- The US spends more on its military than the next seven nations combined, and some analysts don’t think that’s enough.
…OR WITH US, ON FRIDAY, ON THIS CALL
Join us for a discussion on Friday at 11am EDT with Tim, Justin, and Quartz geopolitics editor Pete Gelling, where they’ll discuss the economic and technical drivers that are changing the way armed conflict is fought, and what war might look like in our not-too-distant future. We’ll be taking questions and comments live on the video conference call, accessible at the usual location. If you’d like to dial in, use the following numbers:
UK: 0800-014 8469
USA: 866-226 4650
For all of the numbers, the access code is 722 994 440.
OTHER MEMBER CALLS THIS WEEK
Mon., Oct. 7, 12:30pm EDT: Amar Lalvani, CEO of Standard International—including Standard Hotels and the One Night app—and Quartz Ideas editor Georgia Frances King discuss the future of the hospitality industry.
Thurs., Oct. 10, 11am EDT: Quartz at Work editor Heather Landy and reporter Alison Griswold delve into the dissolution of the We Company and the end of the reign of Adam Neumann. Venture capitalists often talk about investing in people, not ideas. Were they wrong on both counts with We?
(To add our complete schedule of upcoming conference calls to your Google calendar, click here.)
Please send a note to members@qz.com if you have any feedback, or suggestions for other things we should cover. Another great way to give feedback on Quartz membership is to complete this short survey.
Best wishes for a productive week,
Kevin J. Delaney
Editor in chief, Quartz
kevind@qz.com