The threat from extraterrestrials is not Them, it's Us. In this provocative exploration of what we know of the search for intelligent life in the universe, Alexander Wendt explains why, despite the common assumption that discovering a non-human intelligence in our solar system would bring humanity together, there is a real chance that--even without direct contact--it could cause states and the international system to implode in chaos and violence instead. In 2021, the Pentagon announced that UFOs, now Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP), are not only real, but a potential threat to national security. The Pentagon did not say who the threat was from, what exactly the threat was, nor did it mention extraterrestrials (ETs). Yet this finding raises several existential questions. How would human society react to the discovery that we are not alone in our solar system? Would the discovery of ETs locally unify humanity under a world state, or would disagreements on how to respond to an ali
