The Dark Side of DNA Data:

Exploring the Privacy Implications of Aggregated Domestic Genomic Information

DNA data is being treated as a commercial asset, not the personal information that it is.

The Evolution of Insurgency and Counterinsurgency: How Technology is Changing the Game
Aniika Gjesvold Cantero Aniika Gjesvold Cantero

The Evolution of Insurgency and Counterinsurgency: How Technology is Changing the Game

Insurgencies and uprisings have occurred in human history since the dawn of tribal conflicts. However, new concepts in modern times have emerged and differ from the classical paradigms of counterinsurgency strategies in part due to technological advancements and the shifts in globalization (also partly due to the evolution of technology). The focus was and is still in some locations localized to a threat group or region; however, technology has once again made an impact. In similar ways that technological advancements have played a significant role in a conflict's outcome if utilized correctly, technology as we know it is seeping into every corner of the globe and slowly changing the threat landscape and conflict patterns in its wake. 

Read More
Challenges to American Global Leadership: Analyzing the Future of US Influence in a Changing World
Aniika Gjesvold Cantero Aniika Gjesvold Cantero

Challenges to American Global Leadership: Analyzing the Future of US Influence in a Changing World

As with any rising or dominant power, history has shown us that nothing lasts forever, at least not without the right combination of decisions, resources, and other external factors. The United States may intend to remain a vital global force, but can it? Really? The U.S. must examine its entanglements and determine which alliances will support longevity if continuing alliances are a factor. On the other hand, the U.S. has the capacity to remain a global force if chronic deficiencies are addressed and draining alliances are pruned with a critical eye.

Read More
Balancing Cooperation and Competition: A Strategic Approach for the US to Navigate Emerging Power Challenges in the 21st Century
Aniika Gjesvold Cantero Aniika Gjesvold Cantero

Balancing Cooperation and Competition: A Strategic Approach for the US to Navigate Emerging Power Challenges in the 21st Century

Power shifts, and the struggles that go with them, have been happening across the globe since the first human tribes formed. For the U.S. specifically, China has been a power in steady contention with the U.S. In overcoming the U.S. in some areas and introducing challenges to U.S. strategic interests. As an independent strategic analyst, this essay will argue for a strategic approach the United States should adopt to address this challenge. It will analyze U.S. interests, suggest a general strategic approach, and provide some near-term and long-term actions that the U.S. could pursue—mainly focusing on the power struggle with China. 

Read More
Modern Domestic Terrorism Threats in America and an Exploration in Counterterrorism Solutions
Aniika Gjesvold Cantero Aniika Gjesvold Cantero

Modern Domestic Terrorism Threats in America and an Exploration in Counterterrorism Solutions

Violent ideological groups, lone wolves, and domestic actors comprise some of the main threats to U.S. national security today, varying between leader-led and leaderless structures of an organization. In some cases, a combination of all three exists, such as a group of independent lone wolves radicalized by extremist groups residing in the U.S., having found a belief system over chat rooms on the internet, as the story so often goes. 

Read More
Digital Democracy Dies in the Dark
Aniika Gjesvold Cantero Aniika Gjesvold Cantero

Digital Democracy Dies in the Dark

Since the first time a computer connected to another computer in 1962 and formed the infantile connection that grew into what we know as the internet today (Leiner et al. 3), securing it has proven to be an unrelenting challenge. The objective of the internet was to share information, and though it has done that quite successfully, it has also created new vulnerable spaces accessible to the rest of the world. At no other point in history has companies, governments, individuals, and infrastructure been so easily accessible to the world at large.

Read More
Welcome To The “Splinternet”
Aniika Gjesvold Cantero Aniika Gjesvold Cantero

Welcome To The “Splinternet”

Since its commercial and political value was recognized, dominance over the Internet has been fought over. Choosing to balkanize the Internet, also loosely referred to as the “splinternet," would bring with it both interesting risks and rewards. Neither would come without requiring massive changes, including trying to keep the Internet duct-taped together the way it is today. 

Read More