Blockades and Cyberblocks: In Search of Doctrinal Purity. Will Maritime Interdiction Work in Information Age Warfare?
Abstract
This paper examines the blockade, as both a current concept and a tool suitable to Information Age Warfare. It addresses doctrine's twin demands for precise terminology, to aid shared understanding, and intellectual flexibility, required to win future conflicts. Using joint doctrine, international law, and contemporary practice, the paper examines mixing the military and economic elements of power. Bloodless military coercion, as embodied by maritime interdiction--blockades, embargoes, and quarantines--cannot achieve political ends on its own. It requires the exercise of all elements of national power in order to be effective. The paper applies this finding to information Age warfare, and proposes the doctrinal concept of "cyberblock"-- the blockade of information transmission media as a Third Wave flexible deterrent option. Like the blockade, the cyberblock cannot necessarily achieve political ends alone. It is a strategic option, utile in the multilateral strategic environment, that relies on all elements of power to coerce international miscreants into compliance with United Nations' behavioral norms. The paper shows that current joint doctrine requires more precise terminology. It further suggests incorporating the term "cyberblock" as a doctrinal concept that represents an Information Age approach to bloodless military coercion.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 19, 1995
- Accession Number
- ADA301164
Entities
People
- Karl A. Rader
Organizations
- United States Army Command and General Staff College