I greatly recommend buying the book or seeing an event with Dan Drezner in person. Here's a bloggingheads he did with Adam Weinstein that gives a good idea of the in person experience [note the chance to win a book as a prize via zombie trivia]. He had a terrific power point (a contradiction in terms I know) and in general is quite the dynamic speaker. As I said after the event he's easily the funniest of the foreign policy bloggers and while he notes that it's a faint compliment I'd say he's the funnier than my domestic policy bloggers as well. Since the Q&A will vary from event to event, I thought that would be the best way to blog the undead and to ensure a steady mix of new questions. [This is a paraphrase, any lack of humor should be be imputed to my transcription.]
My question: How does the EU fare, rally around the flag or would they fear an infected Polish plumber? EU does not cope well, first response is inevtitably wrong, they only get it right by the fourth and the fith iteration. French would call for an international zombie council [that everyone else would ignore], Germans would keep interest rates high, rest of the Union would ban British beef. He thinks the EU would adapt, but only at the periphery once Berlusconi was eaten.
Effect of twitter, social networking? Some would argue that it would let humans defeat zombies quickly while others think zombies would just adapt them to their own end. Think that the internet wouldn't solve things but would help.
Zombie outbreak in Abkhazia, what happens? Depends on the theory. Also, World War Z is outstanding for addressing this and has a credible idea of the expansionist Holy Russian empire. Realists would be anti-interventionist.
Does the location of a breakout matter? You can't anticipate all causes, they're heterogeneous. With fast zombies, location matters more but they can walk under water. It would matter most for what great powers if any would be felled.
If zombies can be socialized, couldn't they be weaponized? Would there be a global anti-zombie profileration regime? Secret government lab, private government contractor lab are the most common proposals. Could a rogue state use one as a weapon. Unlikely, the most powerful corporations can't control them, it would probably cause more internal harm rather than external harm.
Could America respond with a zero percent real growth defense budget? The intelligence budget matters more than the defense budget. The question is how quickly can you respond. Also, nuking the zombies would be a catastrophic mistake. Think about it.
What about aliens? Independence day is your classic realist scenario with counter hegemon coalitions forming. Read Alex Whendt and Raymond Duval on sovereignty and the UFO states wouldn't acknowledge them due to existential dread. That doesn't apply to technologically inferior zombies. His next book may be 'After Aliens.'
Drezner suggested that New Zealand was the best place to hide out, someone from the embassy asked what about refugee flows. New Zealand would be better off since they aren't the closest great power, until everyone recognizes from Facebook and twitter. Continually insist that you have serious problems with zombie sheep, bar nuclear ships from coming.
NATO: zombie attack on one, zombie attack on all? Yes, their integrated command structure is part of why they've persisted despite realist prediction. They'd argue they'd be well prepared.
Shouldn't zombies be treated as a disease and not a rational actor? The liberal model does treat zombies as a pathogen. Thinks that zombies canon does show that they can be rational.
What about nuking people to cut off the supply? You're sick. Resolutely oppose that.
How does it change our defense posture? Nukes are no longer the trump card? Well zombies are not the only threat, other nations can still be deterred. America does pretty well when it comes to small arms. Again, World War Z does an excellent job. Navy and Air Force gets screwed.
From a fellow CSISer, have we consider allying with other animals? They traditionally also are strongly anti-zombie. Should we reintroduce wolves? Excellent question! Good idea if only humans are infected but terrible idea under a Resident Evil scenario.
What about the global economy? Collapse of trade wouldn't that cause lots of problems? Yes, trade wouldn't stop, it would slow and be more regulated. Capital can still move as can certain categories of goods. You'd presumably see the development of new regulations to prevent the trade of the undead. Customs form would get a lot more complicated.
Effects of frozen Nazi zombies on German society? There's a great college humor video on whether Nazi zombies are still Nazis. Same answer on how zombie jews would deal with zombie nazis. Regardless, German shame spiral but then aggressive action.
Effects on Mid-East peace? If it happened in the Middle East, no as the Israelis would take heavy handed preventative measures. If else where, maybe yes as the Israeli military would be a valuable ally.
Zombies seem to be a moving metaphor, are they just our present fear? Yes, zombies provide a way to address the issues that are on
What does it take to get people cooperating? People did cooperate on intel after 9/11. But a bigger crisis does not necessarily increase cooperation. You'd see a rise in religious movement, particularly the really crazy religious movement. Look at the Boxer rebellion in China, through strong meditation you could stop bullets. That sort of thing. Cooperation possible but not guaranteed.
What about Reavers in Firefly? They don't quite make the definition, despite that one turning episode. But doesn't think that going interplanetary versus nations really changes things.
As young professionals, what should we do to best prepare? Book does deal with bureaucratic politics, domestic politics, individual psychology. You're main strength is that you can think outside of standard operating procedures which are not meant to deal with zombies. Watch as many movies as possible, know all the theories, watch what emerges. The more scripts you know, the better you can predict what will happen. Also learn how to shoot.
[Update: Small grammar fixes.]
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