Book Launch: 'Bytes and Bullets: Global Rivalries, Private Tech, and the New Shape of Modern with Steven Feldstein

The Centre for Statecraft & National Security is excited to host Steven Feldstein for a talk on his new book, Bytes and Bullets: Global Rivalries, Private Tech and the Future of Modern Warfare

BYTES AND BULLETS: Global Rivalries, Private Tech, and the New Shape of Modern Warfare (Hachette / On sale: July 16, 2026) is an analytically rich account of how technology is upending global competition. The race to develop and acquire cutting-edge innovations is playing a major role in shaping how countries compete and wage war, and these dynamics will only intensify in the years ahead. Consequently, nations are in a race to subsidize new innovations while denying access to their rivals. Today, the United States continues to pursue a strategy of tech containment to keep leading innovations out of the hands of its rivals. Its theory of the case is that denying critical technologies to its adversaries will preserve Washington’s advantages and hinder its competitors from catching up.

But as this book lays out, things aren’t so simple. History tells us that it is exceedingly difficult to curb technological diffusion—the outward flow of expertise, innovation, research, and ideas. It is already too late to curtail China’s expanding capabilities; it is the world’s leading manufacturing power and has invested billions in catching up to its rivals. And China isn’t alone. Following closely behind are a slew of middle-powers that are investing major resources into developing powerful tech capabilities and pursuing independent foreign policies alongside powerful tech capabilities. Countries like Iran, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Türkiye, and the United Arab Emirates are vying for greater influence in a competitive global environment and are using technology to get there.

Moreover, the ability of governments to control the development of cutting-edge technologies is increasingly supplanted by private companies. Large tech corporations, from SpaceX to Microsoft, have gained newfound sway historically reserved to nation-states, allowing them to shape diplomatic and military outcomes. The result is an intensifying contest as countries implement hard-nosed policies to preserve their advantages, isolate their opponents, and develop ever more powerful systems. The outcome of this competition will redefine the balance of global power and international relations for decades to come.

About the Speaker:

Steven Feldstein is a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace where he focuses on technology, national security, the global context for democracy, and U.S. foreign policy. He has served in senior foreign policy roles at the U.S. Department of State, Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, and the U.S. Agency for International Development. He was also the holder of the Frank and Bethine Church Chair of Public Affairs at Boise State University. His first book, The Rise of Digital Repression, won the 2023 Grawemeyer Award for Ideas Improving World Order. Feldstein has appeared on ABC, CNBC, C-SPAN, NPR, and BBC, and his writing has appeared in The Atlantic, Foreign Affairs, and Lawfare, among others.