home/working-group/security-policy-and-defence/what-will-biological-warfare-look-like-in-the-21st-century

What will Biological Warfare look like in the 21st Century

Emerging threats and ethical dilemmas in future biological conflicts

File photo
Photo · EPIS Archive
Key Insights

From the perspective of a natural scientist, how will today's technology change biological warfare in the 21st century? Over the last two decades, breakthroughs in synthetic biology, biological engineering and biological AI have radically changed what is possible in terms of biological weapons research. But despite potentially gaining new capabilities, the deployment of biological weapons remains unlikely given their military disadvantages and the challenges involved in acquiring them.

1 min read
Fundamentally, there remain very few cases in which biological weapons retain a tactical edge over other weapon systems, such as chemical warfare agents.

Leif Sieben Leif Sieben is pursuing an M.Sc.

Cite this brief
Sieben, L. (2024). What will Biological Warfare look like in the 21st Century. EPIS Insight · Security Policy & Defence.
© 2026 EPIS · Independent · Non-partisan · Funded by the EPIS FellowsImprint · Privacy · RSS