R.J. Godlewski's The Independent Counterterrorist. I, Militia. June ...

oth state and nonstate actors, catastrophic challenges
involving acquisition and use of WMD, and disruptive
challenges from state and nonstate actors who employ
technologies and capabilities in novel ways to offset
U.S. military superiority. Not surprisingly, the list of
adversaries has broadened to include nonstate actors
such as terrorist and criminal organizations. The
strategy also recognizes that globalization presents
challenges such as pandemics, as well as illicit trade
and environmental destruction. The strategy notes that
although these are not traditional national security
concerns, “if left unaddressed they can threaten
national security.” 83 The overall tone, however, is that
the United States is powerful enough to deal with both
threats and challenges.
Other documents are somewhat more cautious
in their optimism. The 2020 study conducted by
the National Intelligence Council, entitled Mapping
the Global Future, for example, focuses upon both
opportunities and dangers. While noting that the
likelihood of great power conflict is very low, it argues
that many governments and publics do not feel secure.
The study highlights both the positive and negative
consequences of globalization while also acknowledging
that the process itself could be derailed by “a pervasive
sense of economic and physical insecurity.” 84
Mass casualty terrorist attacks, widespread cyber
attacks on infrastructures, or even a pandemic could
trigger efforts by “governments to put controls on the
flow of capital, goods, people,” and technologies, thereby
increasing transaction costs and dampening economic
growth. 85 Even if this is avoided, “lagging economies,
ethnic affiliations, intense religious convictions, and
youth bulges” could combine to create what the study
describes as a “perfect storm.” 86 States with insufficient
capacity to meet expectations or reconcile conflicting
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