The Fourth Industrial Revolution and the Future of the War–State Relationship

The transformation triggered by the fourth industrial revolution has introduced a profound change in the nature of war and in the relationship between technology and political power. Current innovations, from artificial intelligence to autonomous weapons, from quantum computing to biotechnologies, call into question structures that for centuries positioned the state as the exclusive holder of the monopoly of force. Whereas in previous centuries major technological innovations such as gunpowder or nuclear energy consolidated state centrality, today the same dynamics seem to open the way to a redistribution of military power. In an increasingly interconnected world, dependent on widespread digital infrastructures, the ability to conduct offensive or defensive operations is no longer the prerogative of state institutions alone. This condition raises wide-ranging questions, from the legitimacy of the use of force to the future of political sovereignty.