Activision’s Call of Duty: Black Ops 2a fan-favorite classic for its gameplay, it may now be worth remembering because of the connection between its sci-fi plot and our reality. In the 2025 version of the game, the “Second Cold War” continues as technological advances grow exponentially, creating national security threats and a world of fear. In world politics, great competition for power has increased as countries return to evil, putting America and the world at eschatological risk. There are many story lines and concepts at the levels of tactics, operations, and tactical warfare. Much of the technology of the future remains theoretical such as autonomous robotic armored vehicles and invisibility. Not to mention the flashy cameos and political foreshadowing involving U.S. Army General David Patreaus as the Secretary of Defense who broke up a heated conversation with a terrorist held on the USS. Barack Obama. But beyond this, there are three core concepts in the story that should be compared to today.
The first is the “Strategic Defense Coalition” (SDC), China’s leading coalition focused on global domination, control of economic resources and strategic competition with the West. Depending on the player’s critical decisions throughout his career, Russia, Iran, and even India may join Beijing’s alliance. The dominance of the SDC results in Beijing’s ability to persuade or coerce neighboring countries such as North Korea, Pakistan, Burma (Myanmar), and Afghanistan as inevitable superpowers by any means necessary. China is by no means a James Bond or Rocky film Communist antagonist, rather it is an anti-Western geopolitical rival that controls the world’s precious rare minerals and mercantilist wealth. The terrorist-sanctioned hacking of China’s stock market and subsequent crash led Beijing to cut exports of rare earth elements to the US. The story reveals that terrorists are motivated to cause a war between the US and NATO against China and the SDC, leading to a new world order.
In fact, many call this era of international relations the New Cold War. Economically, China is the #1 trading partner with over 60 percent of all nations. Since the video game was made 12 years ago, China and Russia jointly declared their cooperation “without borders” and planned to expand in all fields from military to military. As recently as September, China made a “massive effort” with the help of the undercover to “build and isolate various elements of the Russian war machine,” according to US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell. Iran and North Korea have also moved beyond their regional influence as key military suppliers to Moscow’s war in Ukraine. Meanwhile, while India and China continue to have their own geopolitical tensions, New Delhi still insists BRICS will benefit from a more porous international system.
And who can forget China’s Belt and Road Initiative, which has given Beijing access to some of the world’s best rare earth mineral resources? One major reason why America’s support for Taiwan is collectively justified in domestic political arenas is because of Taiwan’s strong microchip production. According to an assessment by the Armed Forces Communications & Electronics Association International, “Semiconductors specifically require silicon, iridium, boron and phosphorus; The rare earths involved are germanium and gallium. China accounts for 98% of the world’s raw gallium production and 67% of the world’s raw germanium production.
The effects of the escalation of the conflict in the great power competition mean a number of conflicts in Washington, including: (1) a proxy war with Russia, the world’s largest holder of nuclear weapons, (2) a war of reputation with Iran and the Axis of Resistance, which has adversely affected shipping and trade around the world and (3) cold conflict with China over the status of the South China Sea and Taiwan. These strategic issues ignore others with direct US involvement such as the status of the Korean Peninsula and the project to build a Kurdish nation in northeastern Syria. However, all of the above is not taking into account the US-Mexico border crisis, a national security threat that is growing and undoubtedly, directly, affecting the lives of ordinary Americans.
Are the imagined 2025 world scenario and our global strategic analysis consistent? That’s not the case. Is it thematically relevant? Definitely. It is reasonable to conclude from our global geopolitical reality that America’s enemies, many neutral countries, and perhaps some partners are tired of the US-led world order while the most hostile want to end it. The question is: what is the American system of governance in return for? A China-dominated system, multipolarity, or something else? For now at least, we must accept that America’s enemies are cooperating at levels not seen since before the Sino-Soviet split.
A second consistent theme throughout the game occurs at the operational level of war, where military and civilian reliance on technology is proven to be a vulnerable Achilles Heel. Near the end of the game, a terrorist creates a trap for our heroes with his capture. He is brought in for investigation and successfully uses an inside agent to free himself and hijack the USS Barack Obama. With MacGuffin technology, he is able to hack all US Military drones and missiles, launching them in Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Los Angeles. Of course, the plot is a fantasy written by developers who want to put the player in familiar places, like Downtown LA. However, the average American Call of Duty player and non-player should know that cyber warfare is a viable option for state or non-state actors to achieve their goals. The question is, however, whose goals and for what purpose?
The scary truth is that cyber attacks are usually not caused by an actor (or multiple actors such as centralized or decentralized operations). Black Ops 2 apparently the hacker was a terrorist who wanted World War III between the West and others. But if there are significant cyber attacks in real life, we may not know the motivation or the actor. This could lead to a major disaster and possibly a war with the opposing forces already set up. Lesson Black Ops 2 argues in essence that there are no insurmountable measures of cyber risk. In addition, the way the rapid escalation between the two previously troubled superpowers could escalate into war. There is also a non-playable scene where the Chinese President is angry at the US President for “attacking” China as US drones and missiles approach.
A third thematic constant from the game is that information warfare is as powerful as the larger-than-life weapons the player gets to control. According to Forbes, the average person receives 6,000 to 10,000 ads in one day, that’s a low average of 2 million per year. Advertisements are effective in manipulating our consciousness. Social media algorithms trick us into keeping scrolling. Almost everyone in our society agrees with these views across all political spectrums.
So, how does one think of supporting and even helping a mob that kills terrorists? In Black Ops 2terrorists found success by using propaganda on different populations because of the political, military, and economic consequences of the Second Cold War throughout NATO, SDC, and neutral countries. His social media recruiting methods can be laughed at by others, and admittedly, it is fair to criticize this as unacceptable. However, the brutal truth is that we are all guided by information for various purposes, dirty or otherwise. Although it may seem silly to watch a fake ad to join the evil “Cordis Die” in between Black Ops 2the game reminds us of our comfort and freedom to study real history and analyze how the masses fell into radicalism such as the Nazi and Bolshevik movements.
The player’s decisions throughout the game affect the plot in avoiding or enabling the escalation of the Second Cold War to Armageddon. Similarly, and with a pen, not a weapon, the Americans will decide in November. Voters must consider the consequences of American foreign policy interventions as great power competition, technological advances, and information wars only increase. America’s 47th President will certainly have many challenges ahead. But for now, maybe we should get back to this game to show and discuss the geopolitical reality of 2025 that we don’t want.
Further Studies in E-International Relations
Source link
