Influence Operations and the Human Domain

As the nature of contemporary warfare continues to evolve geographically, demographically, and politically, it is increasingly crucial for commanders and staffs conducting full-spectrum counterinsurgency operations to truly understand the complexity of the operating environment and to employ forces and assets in a predictive and multispectral manner. In wars that are irregular in character, in which armed groups recruit from, hide among, and are willing to attack communities, the nature of the conflict is a fight for the population.5 In these environments, the preponderance of effort must be focused on influencing the population more effectively than the adversary.6 This is the fight for the human domain.https://digital-commons.usnwc.edu/ciwag-case-studies/1013/thumbnail.jp

Influence operations : redefining the indirect approach

Across today's spectrum of contemporary warfare, the human terrain is routinely recognized as the center of gravity, but disconnects exists between how states or power holders seek to influence target audiences and how insurgents, terrorist groups, and similar nonstate actors fight to seize the population's cognitive terrain. Insurgents and nonstate actor threats increasingly seek the influence advantage through grassroots processes to subvert populations and establish asymmetric advantages against the United States and other state actors. U.S. policy recognizes the need to influence the behavior, perceptions, and attitudes of foreign audiences through an indirect approach, but its influence methods, in reality, remain tied to Cold War constructs unable to generate the desired effects needed for current/future threats. This thesis examines case studies of insurgent and nonstate actor influence operations to analyze their effects on the perceptions and attitudes of various disparate audiences at a grassroots level. The analysis then identifies methodology, vulnerabilities, and opportunities to engage these asymmetric threats within their own influence safe havens.http://archive.org/details/influenceoperati109455611Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited