The weaponisation of everything: a field guide to the new way of war

Abstract

An entire International Relations (IR) generation has been taught that globalization created an innate interdependence between states, and that this interdependence kept war at bay. In many ways, Mark Galeotti reminds us that the pressures and tensions, which have for centuries led to war, did not evaporate. In The weaponisation of everything, Galeotti presents a field guide to an overlooked war zone: the interdependence of states. Given the litany of publications pontificating about grey zones and the blurring of lines between war and peace, the author seeks to shift the debate entirely away from processes and implications of transitions from peace to war. Instead, Galeotti argues that activities beneath the threshold of war are but permanent and perennial aspects of the international system. The book is divided in three sections, beginning with a survey of lessons from past wars and conflicts in which levers of power have been ‘weaponized’ throughout history. In light of the Ukraine–Russia war and the utilization of information warfare, Galeotti argues this is merely the renaissance of information weaponization. The author weaves tales of historical uses of disinformation to prove this point, including George Washington's efforts in 1775 to inject rumours of the ‘poor morale of the continental army, lulling British Hessian forces into a false complacency’ (p. 165). Today, we simply have more opportunities and methods to deploy disinformation. Galeotti's next section draws out alternative weaponization processes and examples from the contemporary strategic environment, such as international business, economic systems and transnational crime. The author wades into the 2016 US presidential election, given Russia's suspected role in President Donald Trump's victory. True to the advent of Galeotti's ‘weaponization of everything’, expert and public opinion on the evolution of the 2016 electoral race point to a substantial information warfare operation led by the Kremlin.