ABSTRACT Title of Document: ROBOTICS and the FUTURE OF
ABSTRACT Title of Document: ROBOTICS AND THE FUTURE OF INTERNATIONAL ASYMMETRIC WARFARE Nicholas Grossman, Doctor of Philosophy, 2013 Directed By: Professor George Quester, Department of Government and Politics In the post-Cold War world, the world's most powerful states have cooperated or avoided conflict with each other, easily defeated smaller state governments, engaged in protracted conflicts against insurgencies and resistance networks, and lost civilians to terrorist attacks. This dissertation explores various explanations for this pattern, proposing that some non-state networks adapt to major international transitions more quickly than bureaucratic states. Networks have taken advantage of the information technology revolution to enhance their capabilities, but states have begun to adjust, producing robotic systems with the potential to grant them an advantage in asymmetric warfare. ROBOTICS AND THE FUTURE OF ASYMMETRIC WARFARE By Nicholas Grossman Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Maryland, College Park, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2013 Advisory Committee: Professor George Quester, Chair Professor Paul Huth Professor Shibley Telhami Professor Piotr Swistak Professor William Nolte Professor Keith Olson © Copyright by Nicholas Grossman 2013 Dedication To Marc and Tracy Grossman, who made this all possible, and to Alyssa Prorok, who made it all worth it. ii Acknowledgements Thank you to my dissertation committee for all the advice and support, Anne Marie Clark and Cissy Roberts for making everything run smoothly, Jacob Aronson and Rabih Helou for the comments and encouragement, Alyssa Prorok for invaluable help, and especially to George Quester for years of mentorship.
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