Information Operations - A New Tool for Peacekeeping
Abstract
This monograph discusses the application of information operations to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of peace missions ranging from peacekeeping to peace imposition. Using a variety of models and an examination of the components of information operations this monograph demonstrates the applicability of these operations to peace missions. Examples from recent history provide a backdrop for evaluating previous applications and investigating other potential uses of information operations to support peace missions. Based on the validation of applicability the possible increase in effectiveness and efficiency are postulated and potential resource savings evaluated. The monograph first examines the status of international relations as a result of the demise of the Soviet Union and the rise of information technology. The impact of these two earthshaking events have forever changed the face the world. As the nations of the world seek a new geometry of relationships without the Soviet Union the level of violence continues to rise. Without the unifying ideologies of the Cold War, many nations are seeking identity through ethnicity. This factor in conjunction with a freedom to act completely in promotion of national interests without the specter of a global nuclear war has led to a very unstable world. At the same time that United Nations pleads for resources to enforce peace on the new world disorder, nations are increasingly captured by domestic issues. The question becomes can we afford the expanding resources necessary to keep the peace and still answer domestic problems? The final sections of this monograph address the utility of information operations for peace missions. Information operations, the application of the continued advances in information technology, provides a tool to make peace affordable. Information operations allow cost effective solutions t
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 22, 1997
- Accession Number
- ADA331354
Entities
People
- Gary E. Phillips
Organizations
- United States Army Command and General Staff College