Abstract
Military operations are complex adaptive systems in which the means applied must be regarded as important as the ends sought. Complex adaptive systems work in an everything–affects–everything mode with various levels of interrelatedness. Conceptualizing military operations as a complex adaptive system allows biological evolution to be used as point of departure. Thus military operations are seen as a process that rests on adaptation and mutation in which the challenge is to offset changing conditions coming both from the environment and interaction with the enemy. The effects landscape as proposed metaphor makes clear that evolution by natural selection and the conduct of war are intimately related. Both reflect conflict, survival, and conquest in a very similar and fundamental way. The proposed metaphor helps think about military operations differently by also offering some advantages.
Highlights
Military operations are complex adaptive systems in which the means applied must be regarded as important as the ends sought
Conceptualising military operations as a complex adaptive system means to appreciate it as an organic whole and not as something composed of dissected entities
Conceptualising military operations as a complex adaptive system allows biological evo- lution to be used as point of departure
Summary
The theory of complex adaptive systems indicates that assumptions on clear causality in mil- itary operations display major conceptual and methodological weaknesses, and are danger- ously disconnected from war’s true nature. The search for causal relationships has always been fashionable, a causal focus often lacks both substance and meaningful content. It is empty, occasionally harmful and never takes war’s proverbial friction fully into account. Causality oriented thinking addresses military operations in scientific terms, but analytical skills based on direct causality are valid only within a limited range. Beyond that they are not able to de-. It is important to consider opposites, as one side (chaos) cannot be right at the expense of the other (stasis): military operations often allow for polarities to manage rather than problems to solve. [6] To comprehend the dynamics of military operations an approach is needed that is less rigid and more flexible, less artificial and more natural, less mechanistic and more organic; one that emphasises actions in the environment. [7]
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