From drone warfare in the Middle East to digital spying, today’s governments have harnessed the power of cutting-edge technology to awesome effect. But what happens when ordinary people have the same tools at their fingertips? Advances in cybertechnology, biotechnology and robotics mean that more people than ever before have access to potentially dangerous technologies – from drones to computer networks and biological agents – which could be used to attack states and private citizens alike. In The Future of Violence, security experts Benjamin Wittes and Gabriella Blum detail the myriad possibilities and enormous risks present in the modern world, and argue that if our national governments can no longer adequately protect us from harm, they will lose their legitimacy. They explain how governments, companies and citizens must rethink their efforts to protect our lives and liberty.

As a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and co-director of the Harvard Law School–Brookings Project on Law and Security, Benjamin Wittes is arguably the Unites States’ leading expert on security and law. Gabriella Blum is the Rita E. Hauser Professor of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law at Harvard University.