Finding The Limit: The Strategic Potential Of The Network Based Actor

Abstract

Non-state, network-based threats are elusive and effective. There is an ongoing discussion about howthe U.S. government can best counter these threats. What is lacking in this discussion is a clearunderstanding and general agreement concerning what these threats are capable of. The potential of thesenetworks should be the primary driver of these discussions. Currently there is a split among researchersconcerning the potential of network-based actors. The source of this division is a debate about whether andto what extent decentralized network-based actors can conduct strategic planning. This thesis contributesto the debate through qualitative analysis of two non-state, network-based actors, to show the capacity toplan strategically, evidenced by their ability to acquire and employ agents of influence.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Dec 01, 2016
Accession Number
AD1030836

Entities

People

  • Sean M. Dixon

Organizations

  • Naval Postgraduate School

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Engineered Resilient Systems

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Agreements
  • California
  • Employment
  • Foreign Policy
  • Governments
  • Guerrilla Warfare
  • Homeland Security
  • Information Operations
  • Information Systems
  • Nato
  • New York
  • Reliability
  • Societies
  • Terrorism
  • United States
  • United States Government
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Data Mining and Knowledge Discovery.
  • Strategic Security Studies