Instruments Of National Power Research Articles

20 Years of the Republic of Slovenia in NATO: Some Impressions about a Tiny Part and the Whole

Abstract Smart states, through alliances, synergistically enhance the capacity, readiness, responsiveness, resilience, sustainability and interoperability of their instruments of national power. NATO is constantly continually responding in a multidimensional way to changing security threats and operational circumstances, including by updating and upgrading concepts, plans and measures. The Alliance is also an opportunity for self-reflection; not to judge in retrospect, but to prevent mistakes in the future. We need to discuss honestly why we might be elsewhere, as had been desired and planned, but at the same time, despite our small size, we could be more courageous in pursuing different and original solutions.

Politics With Other Means: Aligning U.S. Military and Diplomatic Efforts in the Indo-Pacific Command Region

This paper offers potential answers to the question, “How does the United States effectively align military and diplomatic efforts to deter the People’s Republic of China expansionism in the Indo-Pacific Command region?” A problem/solution method is used to address the question. The need for alignment is demonstrated by a thorough review of national-level policy documents, and the current gap in the alignment of military and diplomatic efforts is demonstrated through review and analysis of primary and secondary sources. An historical approach is taken throughout the work to provide background and context from Chinese and United States (U.S.) perspectives. An analysis is conducted to juxtapose eastern and western approaches to geopolitical competition and war. Historic examples of U.S. successes due to strategically aligned application of its Diplomatic, Informational, Military, and Economic (DIME) Instruments of National Power (IOP) are analyzed, as well as historic failures due to dis-alignment. Structural options which facilitate the alignment of military and diplomatic efforts within Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM) are outlined and compared, resulting in the author’s recommendation for implementation. Contrasting views are then addressed. Next, tailorable opportunities for global implementation of the recommended structural option are discussed. Lastly, an integrated Whole-of-Government (WOG) structural method is offered to support the oversight and achievement of national strategic objectives and provide the United States of America lasting and adaptable advantage across Great Power Competition (GPC) and beyond.

Collaboration in Space and the Search for Peace on Earth by Andrew L. Jenks (review).

Reviewed by: Collaboration in Space and the Search for Peace on Earth by Andrew L. Jenks Darina Volf (bio) Collaboration in Space and the Search for Peace on Earth By Andrew L. Jenks. London: Anthem Press, 2021. Pp. 180. The birth and advancement of space technology at the height of the Cold War might explain why the history of the first four decades of physical exploration of outer space is usually told as a story driven by competition and national interest, in which there was hardly any place for transnational and collaborative efforts. Andrew Jenks's Collaboration in Space and the Search for Peace on Earth challenges the dominance of the competitive paradigm in the history of early spaceflight and turns our attention to international collaboration in space. This alone makes the book a long overdue and important contribution to Cold War space history. What is more, Jenks's analysis does not end in the deeps of outer space but returns to Earth in order to shed light on political and societal implications resulting from the internationalization of efforts in space. The introduction focuses on the tension between the ideal of science and technology that is by its very nature transnational and collaborative, and the reality of political limitations to knowledge flows and technology transfers motivated by national interest. As becomes clear, this tension was particularly manifest in the realm of space technology and space exploration, which were perceived as both an instrument of national power and a universal task transcending national boundaries. The latter idea gained importance in the 1970s, which Jenks argues led to a new era of space collaboration introduced by the Soviet-American joint flight and docking experiment known as the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project. The initial two chapters explain the general shift toward space collaboration in the 1970s. Jenks identifies ideas that inspired a more collaborative approach to space exploration, as well as political and societal developments that were central in facilitating rapprochement, negotiations, and the subsequent agreement on the ASTP between the two space powers. Moreover, the ASTP is embedded into a broader context of transnational utopias and visions of global peace associated with exploration of outer space, and Jenks discusses its role in creating an alternative to the images of mutual destruction and in working against Cold War anxieties. But the following reflections also demonstrate the limits of collaborative efforts in space, which often fell victim to bureaucratic and political hurdles. The third chapter of the book shifts the perspective from the origins and legacies of the ASTP to the actual work on the compatible rendezvous and docking mechanism developed in preparation for the joint mission. Here, Jenks presents a fascinating story linking the technological innovation process with its political and symbolic functions. Based on the belief [End Page 885] that technological fixes can also address political and societal problems, the androgynous docking mechanism was loaded with meanings beyond the realm of technology. It became a symbol of cooperation, hybridity, and peaceful coexistence of different systems. The fourth chapter looks closely at the two partners cooperating in the ASTP and suggests the rather surprising conclusion that, over the course of the changes that occurred in the 1960s and 1970s, the United States and the Soviet Union reversed their roles regarding openness and secrecy. From the 1960s on, the Soviet Union started to gradually open its initially secretive space program toward partners from abroad, while in the U.S. space program—which was for a long time perceived as open and transparent—fears of technology transfer reinforced the regime of secrecy and hindered international cooperation, especially during the Reagan administration. The conclusion elaborates on the legacy of the ASTP and persuasively argues that the ASTP was more than an expensive handshake in space. Overall, the book is well written and thoroughly researched. Occasionally Jenks seems to overemphasize the extent of Soviet openness and cooperativeness, which might appear enormous given the previous degree of secrecy in the Soviet space program, but which still had considerable limits. The internal Soviet opposition against every step toward greater openness and the refusal to provide the United States with any information going beyond the scope of the ASTP are...

On Qualification of the Phenomenon of Hybridism of the Use of Force and the Problem of Interference in Internal Affairs of a State

The purpose of this article is to eliminate methodological discrepancies in the definition of the problem of “hybrid” use of force and the possibility of using this construct when interfering in the internal affairs of states. In any conflict situation, the behavior of states in moving towards their national goals can be explained through how they do combine and synchronize (as it is often defined at the present time — «hybrid») the use of means of compellence and coercion available to them. In general, conceptually «hybrid war» can be described as “the synchronized use of multiple instruments of national power, specially selected to obtain mutually reinforcing effects on specific vulnerabilities across the entire spectrum of social processes. The substance of the modern security environment has led to an increase in the number of areas of conflict of interests of actors, the complexity and dynamism of conflicts, and the unpredictability of their outcomes. The formation of the practice of attribution of international responsibility, and the development of the international institutions supporting it, took place gradually and, ultimately, led to such a development of the international security environment, which made an appeal to «hybridity» to promote national interests in the process of political competition of social groups or individuals with divergent interests for power inevitable. The problem of terminology is one of the main obstacles to a clear understanding of the operation of the «hybridity» construct in political competition. The active use of the definition «hybrid» by propaganda in combination with the terms «war», «threats», «hostilities in the gray zone», «operations», «tactics», «competition does not turn into a state of war» political discourse, since these terms are almost never linked to the definition of the desired state of international relations by the state leadership. And if we are talking about the outcome of the collision of interests of actors in competition or conflict, then this desired result is «historically» defined by the term «victory». Thus, the definition of the substance of «victory» is a necessary initial point to onset analyzing the possibilities of turning to any of the instruments of national power in a «hybrid» confrontation.

Limitations of Military Power to Counter a Rising China

Research finds that a heavy reliance on unaccompanied military deterrence with China is an ineffective solution. The U.S. lacks the requisite industrial power to replicate the winning conditions of its victory in the Pacific during World War Two. Untried developments in military technology create an unacceptable level of uncertainty at the outset of a conflict between two major powers. The study concludes that a more multidimensional approach must be increasingly emphasized by the U.S., incorporating other instruments of national power. The U.S. must increasingly foster security partnerships with allies, rely on the normative pressures from the international community via institutions, and adjust the form and focus of its own military to optimize the efficiency of existing forces without resorting to increased defense spending. Lastly, the U.S. must find common ground with China, reversing feelings of alienation and bullying that influence China to disregard the concerns of other nations.

ON MILITARY STRATEGIES, REVIEW

ON MILITARY STRATEGIES, REVIEW

National Security Redesign after the COVID–19: Nepali Army’s Security Priority in Response to the Global Pandemics

Pandemic disease always poses one of the greatest security threats to national security. It is widely discussed as a non-traditional threat candidate to national security (NDU, CACI, The Asymmetric Threat Symposium, 2008, p. 31). Indeed, the COVID-19 has not only unleashed havoc on developing nation but also provided a vital national security lesson exposing weaknesses in their capabilities to protect citizens. For example, Nepal has lost more than 2000 lives of its people and about 271,000 have severely suffered this viral infection, and the deaths with this pandemic in the US and UK are even higher. And the trend of causalities has increasingly been continuing along with an alarming rate of infection. Meanwhile, a new deadly variant of corona virus is swiftly spreading across the globe including Nepal. This study employs the qualitative research framework and data have been employed from secondary sources. The research philosophy adopted is interpretivism where the researcher has included his viewpoints to available data in presenting ideas. The article explores causes and multi-dimensional effects, critical nexus between COVID-19 and National Security in support to the argument that the nature, scope, novelty and complexity of COVID-19 pandemic demands an Integrated National Security Strategy for an effective application of all the instruments of national power, including Nepali Army, public and private sector to respond successfully. This paper also spotlights the crucial role of Nepali Army in containing pandemics that proffers to reappraisal of such a vital security body’s strategies and doctrines, taking the current corona virus in serious consideration.

The National Security Strategy in the Current Environment: from DIME to a DIME-T Approach

Abstract The contemporary security environment is characterized by Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity (VUCA), the use of hybrid warfare and grey zone conflicts, generating the need to adapt the national security strategies to the changes demands of the environment. In this context, the instruments of national power (diplomatic, information, economic, military) should be used in an integrated manner, in order to provide a more comprehensive approach to national security. The technology has become an integral part of the life of the society, and as such it should be taken into consideration as an instrument of power and highlighted as a major component of a national security strategy. The paper proposes a DIME-T approach to national instruments of power, by analysing the complex implications of technology on all the areas of security.

Training Foreign Militaries for Peace – U.S. IMET and Militarized Interstate Disputes 1976-2007

How do U.S. International Military Education and Training programs affect the recipient states` behavior in militarized interstate disputes? While the relationship between U.S. military aid in the form of arms and equipment transfer and MID involvement has been studied extensively in international relations literature the effects of U.S. IMET programs on the same phenomena has been largely ignored. This study intends to fill some of this gap. This paper proposes that American educated and trained foreign military personnel return home with a better understanding about the role of the military as an instrument of national power, civil-military relations, and the cost of war. These military personnel advise their political masters against the use of military force during international disputes leading to a decreased probability of both MID initiation and escalation. To test this argument the analysis employs a merged dataset from the Correlates of War Projects and the most prominent U.S. IMET and coups data. Using logistic regression analysis this study finds that more U.S. IMET support a country receives the less likely it initiates MIDs. The analysis also finds that countries that receive U.S. IMET support are less likely to escalate ongoing MIDs to higher levels of hostility.

How Does NATO Apply Instruments of Power as it Prepares for the Possibility of Conventional Warfare Against a Peer Adversary? Applying a ‘DIMEFIL’ analysis.

This article examines the question of how NATO employs instruments of power as it prepares for a possible defence against aggression from a potential adversary. It will attempt to answer this question by applying the various instruments of national power to form a qualitative assessment of the degree to which NATO exerts itself in these those power domains and how effectively these prepare NATO for conventional warfare. The article will consider how these instruments of national power, as represented by the ‘DIMEFIL’ acronym, can be applied and quantified as NATO’s own ‘supranational’ power parameters. Notwithstanding the obvious fact that NATO cannot be considered as a ‘national’ entity, nevertheless this article argues that such an analysis provides sufficient validity to produce observations and derive reliable conclusions. Whether such an analysis can shed light on NATO’s level of preparedness in fighting- and winning- a conventional European land conflict is the principal consideration of this article.

The Joint Command and Staff Course: responding to the educational needs of senior officers in the Irish Defence Forces

The Defence Forces are Ireland's military instrument of national power with responsibilities for national security and defence. The Irish government is committed to supporting international peace and security by deploying Defence Forces' personnel on United Nations peacekeeping missions and EU and NATO-led crisis management operations. However, the characteristics of the contemporary operating environment (COE) make military operations today more complex than at any other time in human history. To operate effectively in the COE requires officers that are educated to cope with uncertainty and have highly developed critical thinking skills. This article examines the Defence Force's response to the challenge of educating its senior leaders through the recently developed Joint Command and Staff Course delivered in partnership with Maynooth University. This paper advances the argument that developing its personnel's intellectual capacities is essential for the Defence Forces to operate effectively in the uncertainty of the modern security environment.

Information Lawfare: An Underutilized Instrument of National Power

The U.S. legal system is known as the envy of the world. Yet law as an instrument of national power has been woefully understudied. Traditional academic frameworks for studying the instruments of national power do not consider the full potential of law to be used as a weapon of war between states, a concept known as “Law-fare.” Meanwhile, U.S. adversaries understand that law can be a potent weapon, both to achieve concrete military objectives and to win battles in the information domain, and have wielded it against the U.S. As war escalates in the information domain, information law-fare will be a critical piece of any party’s strategy. Through a case study of the U.S.’s strike that killed Iranian Major General Soleimani in January 2020, this short article demonstrates how information law-fare can be used, and why the U.S. must develop its offensive and defensive law-fare capabilities. This paper won a prize in the 2020 Air Force Judge Advocate General School's National Security Law Writing Competition.

Pakistan Video industry: Creating equilibrium through re-calibration of the roles and powers, for future commercial growth

Pakistan's video industry is faced with existential challenges. This note present an industry overview through a practitioner's perspective and discuss both global trends and technologies in Pakistan's context. It goes on to make recommendations on how specific actions can transform our industry into an instrument of national power and commercial value. Key Points: Pakistan's video market is a combination of 100 million individual connections (TVs and mobile devices). This view is different than the regulatory focus on traditional TV Households Growth of our market is linked to a recalibration of the current regulatory frameworks. Pakistan should open its doors to foreign investments in content production & broadcast. Distribution segment of the video industry is its lynchpin. Nationwide distribution licenses with hybrid offering (traditional & OTT) are likely to be commercially successful in future. Pakistan must grow its video industry as an instrument of national power. For doing so, it must create a combination of foreign investments, indigenization of skillset and technology through industry-academia partnerships, and an enabling regulatory environment.

La política de fronteras de Colombia ante las nuevas amenazas de seguridad y defensa

La delincuencia organizada ligada al terrorismo y al narcotráfico ha encontrado en la dinámica sociopolítica de las fronteras los espacios propicios para sus acciones, esto genera graves amenazas para la seguridad de los Estados. Esta situación hace necesaria la investigación de las nuevas amenazas para la seguridad y defensa nacional de Colombia, en especial, los sucesos similares a los descritos por Herman Khan, en los cuales hay intereses de diferentes actores que desestabilizan la seguridad, la soberanía y el territorio. Estos eventos que ocurren en la frontera con Venezuela son recurrentes y afectan no solo a Colombia, sino al equilibrio de poder democrático regional. Es indispensable, por tanto, considerar los mecanismos de seguridad colectiva y cooperativa, así como los instrumentos del poder y defensa nacional orientados a reducir las amenazas.

Impact of Food Security Initiative on Sustainable Development in North Eastern Nigeria

Can human being survive without food? No doubt, food is life; hence, food has become an instrument of national power. It is within that imperatival need for food that this paper takes a cursory look at the issue in all its ramifications. The paper with a comprehensive review of food security initiative on sustainable development in North Eastern Nigeria (Sponsored by TETFUND). The results of this study may indicate positive and significant relationship between food security elements: Availability, Accessibility, Adequacy and sustainable to access to food with sustainable development. The study used primary source of data collection through the administration of questionnaires among various government agencies, corporate organizations, Non- governmental, buyers as well as sellers within the North Eastern Nigeria. Various statistics tools to include descriptive statistics, correlation analysis and regression analysis were used to analyze the data. The study recommends that stake holders, government authorities’ should on promoting food security in order to achieve sustainable development. Donor agencies should channel resources in ensuring food security for sustainable development in developing countries especially in Nigerian and in particular the North Eastern part. Moreover, increased productivity should be directed towards keeping pace with the growing population and through improvement in technology, there would be sufficient food available in the country

The danger of “hybrid warfare” from a sophisticated adversary: the Russian “hybridity” in the Ukrainian conflict

ABSTRACTThe term “hybrid warfare” is a new one that the West began to use to explain its failure to cope with asymmetric threats. Focusing on the war on global terrorism, the West temporarily withdrew its attention from traditional adversaries, such as Russia, which has used this gap and has audaciously returned to the stage as a global actor. Until the Russian annexation of the Crimean Peninsula in 2014 and inflaming the Ukrainian crisis, most Western authors attributed “hybrid threats” mostly to non-state actors. But the Ukrainian scenario showed the true face of “hybridity” in the modern battlefield when practised by a powerful state actor. Russian “hybrid warfare” in Ukraine has already been seen as a combination of conventional and unconventional methods, that have been complemented with other instruments of national power – diplomatic, economic and information. The purpose of this article is, through an analysis of the Ukrainian scenario, to demonstrate that although the term “hybrid” is new, the concept itself is old and is a continuation of already seen doctrine from the Cold War era. Although “hybrid threats” can come both from state and non-state actors, the Russian interference in Ukraine is proof that they are especially dangerous for the West if, or when, they are initiated from a traditional, sophisticated adversary that has the capacity to use all forms of warfare.

Special Operations Forces in the Gray Zone: An Operational Framework for Using Special Operations Forces in the Space Between War and Peace

In September of 2015, the United States Special Operations Command published a report on the challenges presented by hostile adversarial actions that exist outside of the “traditional peace/war duality.” Yet neither that paper nor subsequent treatments of the subject address the central question of when and how to employ the most innovative, subtle, and adaptable instruments of national power—special operations forces—in these ambiguous threat environments. This article provides an initial inquiry into this question. After discussing the inadequacy of current operational models to address “gray zone” challenges (however loosely defined), the article introduces and uses an alternative model to illuminate the utility of special operations forces power at various points on the escalatory spectrum. The paper closes with additional questions to spur further research and a synopsis that addresses the implications of the model to the United States’ overall approach to gray zone competition.

Breaking it down Barney style: a framework for cultural interoperability

When planning operations, the common maxim is to see yourself, see the terrain, and see the enemy. The idea of seeing your friends is a secondary consideration of seeing yourself. Planning tools focus on formations and quantity. Interoperability standards focus on equipment, doctrine, and procedures. There is no consideration of cultural interoperability. Through many unit and army level ad-hoc processes and repurposing of existing systems such as force development models, operational variables and instruments of national power, the Army has become accustomed to analyzing the culture of other nations. However, a single methodology was never formalized. This paper explores academic theory and military doctrine to synthesize a framework to determine cultural interoperability. The indicators of military cultural interoperability will provide a common starting point for analysis of partner armies and allow leaders to reflect on the requirements for working with partner nations and develop training programs tailored to promote strong friendships.

Kyiv, International Institutions, and the Russian People: Three Aspects of Russia’s Current Information Campaign in Ukraine

Joint Publication 1-02, Department of Defense Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms, defines instruments of national power as ‘All of the means available to the government in its pursuit of national objectives. They are expressed as diplomatic, economic, informational and military’. At the September 2014 Wales Summit, the Supreme Allied Commander in Europe described Russia’s recent use of one of these listed means as ‘the most amazing information warfare blitzkrieg we have ever seen in the history of information warfare’. The recent use of the Russian media to support this hybrid approach — via controlling the message, the narrative, and thus the perceptions of the Russian street regarding the nation’s aims — is evident to anyone with Internet access.

Creating Cyber Strategists: Escaping the ‘DIME’ Mnemonic

This article offers a straw man cyber curriculum designed to initiate discussion on how to educate cyber strategists in the US, stressing the recent advances in technology moving us to the next generation of wearables, drivables, flyables, and scannables. With everything becoming interconnected, there is a need to extend instruction from the instruments of national power associated with DIME (diplomatic, information, military, economic) to a more holistic paradigm when considering cyber issues. This requires developing cyber strategists based on new curriculum components to capitalize on comprehensive views and analytical thought instead of mnemonic devices. It calls on digital and national security experts to reconsider the underlying concepts that will serve as educational guides for cyber strategists as they progress into the next decade.