Habitus and the Information Environment: An ethnographic case study of digital anthropology
Abstract
The use of influence operations by both state and non-state actors is perhaps most prominently heralded in Sun Tzu?s Art of War. It, has been employed to achieve strategic ends for millennia in both peace time and conflict. Contemporary variants employed by the Fe,deration of Russia have matured over centuries to their current form. They were used during her Czarist era both to control the inte,rnal population of the hinterland, as well as to conquer new territories and undermine competitors and adversaries. In addition, dur,ing the Cold War, the former Soviet Union leveraged this tactic extensively in the West, as well as in many of the ?hot? wars in Lat,in America, Africa and Southeast Asia, to deny the United States and her allies from gaining or sustaining a regional balance of pow,er.-It is therefore not a surprise that Russia continues to engage in influence operations globally in both classical and hybrid for,ms in the 21st century. Moscow?s continued use of certain locales as test beds prior to launching more substantial efforts elsewhere, is also to be expected (Lochard 2016c). Finally, it is somewhat unremarkable that Russia has and continues to use influence operati,ons for the same strategic ends globally ? in essence, creating a ?digital? Cold War (Edwards 1996). Multiple metrics consistently d,emonstrate these two superpowers contain the highest level of disinformation and propaganda on social media (Facebook 2020; Facebook, 2021). To better assess this dynamic, scholars have focused on how Moscow frequently incorporates both cyber and kinetic attacks, a,long with influence operations, to de-legitimize a state or its institutions, foment discord among elements of a population, or deny, a country from being too closely affiliated with the West. However, this too appears to be simply the adaptation of newer technolog,ies, which has historically been prevalent (Manuel 1993), rather than any change in strategic approach.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Oct 06, 2022
- Source ID
- N000142212767
Entities
People
- Itamara Lochard
Organizations
- George Mason University
- Office of Naval Research
- United States Navy