In the era of globalization and interconnections, states have entered into a mutual dependence on all levels. However, instead of this interdependence eliminating tensions between states, it has provided new ways of engagement and conflict.

The dividing line between peace and war has long become blurred, and now everything is being weaponized. We are witnessing more and more symptoms of a changing international political environment, in which wars are replaced by new forms of aggression and the interconnectedness of people and states seems to be the new choice of battleground for displaying power.

War "by other means"? This is what the theorist of war, Carl von Clausewitz, would reflect on today, who described war as the continuation of politics by other means. However, today, in the nuclear age, a choice of military conflict has incalculable consequences, as demonstrated by the Russian invasion of Ukraine; thus, global political confrontation will continue with newer "other means," those that Mark Leonard refers to as "interconnection conflicts."

Governments manipulate everything that connects countries to each other: supply chains, financial flows, the movement of people, pandemics, climate change, and above all, the internet. While the coronavirus pandemic confronted all of humanity with a contagious disease, another pandemic was deliberately fueled from the shadows. Toxic behaviors became contagious as national leaders responded to the weaponization of global interconnections.