Center of Gravity Analysis and Chaos Theory

Abstract

Nearly all military authors and theorist at one time or another refer to the Center of Gravity (COG) concept. Clausewitz was the first to refer to COGs and placed them within a military context that lay within a social- political construct. Subsequent authors have not explored COGs to any depth and have failed to provide a wider framework with which to analyze their methodologies. This paper explores COG analysis from the context of the new science of 'Chaos Theory.' It demonstrates that social, cultural, economic, political, and military systems are open, and nonlinear in nature. It postulates, a social construct based on Chaos Theory, and explores the interactions of the elements of power. Lastly, it shows methods to identify and disrupt COGs based upon the dynamics of Chaos Theory.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Apr 01, 1993
Accession Number
ADA283047

Entities

People

  • Pat A. Pentland

Organizations

  • Air War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Air Power
  • Anthropology
  • Doctrine
  • Economic Systems
  • Governments
  • International Relations
  • Military Organizations
  • Military Science
  • National Security
  • Nonlinear Dynamics
  • Political Science
  • Quantum Mechanics
  • Second World War
  • United States
  • War Colleges
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Military History / Militaries and War Studies
  • Political Violence and Terrorism Studies.
  • Theoretical Analysis.