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Preface The famous observation, often attributed to Plato, that only the dead have seen the end of war remains as true two de­cades into the 21st ­ century as it would have been twenty-­ four centuries ­ earlier. Furthermore, the nature of war endures, marked by interactivity and vio­lence in pursuit of po­liti­cal goals. That said, history shows that technology continually impacts the character of par­ tic ­ u ­ lar conflicts. In the past, the realm of the pos­ si ­ ble was radically reshaped by the introduction of a panoply of technologies, which themselves provoked or ­ were created in response to tactical and operational contexts ­ shaped by other forces, including other technologies. ­ Whether the pike or the harquebus or even the archer’s bow are thought to represent instruments of a “revolution” in warfare, their use in combat prompted changes in tactics. Technologies like rail mobility and steam power transformed logistics and the ability to smoothly move and sustain armies— at least up to a country’s own frontiers. Breakthroughs in propellant and explosive chemistry ­ were ­ factors that helped foreclose the breakthroughs of armies on the battlefields of World War I. Medical advances that saved lives paradoxically also helped combatants sustain war. Myriad technologies, from the jet engine to the nuclear bomb to precision guidance and stealth and satellite communications and tracking brought rapid change to the character—­but not the nature—of military affairs throughout the second half of the 20th ­ century. This book considers aspects of technology in the 21st ­ century. It is or­ga­nized into three overarching sections, encompassing cyber warfare, social media in secu- rity affairs, and other technologies. The introduction of new domains of fighting happens only very rarely. Combat in the sea domain began around 1200 BCE, and more than three millennia tran­spired before heavier-­than-­air vehicles allowed real- istic utilization of the air domain. But barely a half-­ century ­ after the first war- planes took to the sky, the United States and the Soviet Union ­ were seeking to explore and exploit the space domain to advance national security goals, through intelligence data collection, for communications, and for guidance. Although dif­ fer ­ ent voices disagree about the beginning “date” of the cyber domain, it can be thought of as coming of age in the 21st ­century. The use of soft- ware to exert effects on targets, and the efforts of targeted entities to avoid being victims, inspired the establishment of the cyber warfare section in this book. The notable exploitation of the cyber domain for sharing and shaping information prompted the making of a second section engaging with social media topics. Yet,