Culture, Identity, and Information Technology in the 21st Century: Implications for U.S. National Security (Enlarged Edition)

This monograph describes strategic trends in cultural change and identity formation in the 21st century. While it is impossible to predict credibly the values and beliefs of future generations, the first part of the monograph provides a modest forecast by tracing global trends in the use of language and media, as well as in the use of information and communication technologies. The second part then draws out potential implications of these culture and identity trends for the strength of the U.S. "signal" in the global info communication sphere. The analysis by Dr. Pauline Kusiak suggests that in the next several decades, the world is likely to be more ideologically fragmented than at any time during the 20th century and that the ability of the United States to push back against other "centers of influence" may be comparatively reduced.